Department of Health and Social Care

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to alleviate ADHD diagnosis waiting times.

Maria Caulfield: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The NICE guidelines do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD to receiving an assessment or a diagnosis. The Department is looking into options for improving data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines.We know that children and young people often seek an ADHD diagnosis through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year for the expansion and transformation of mental health services in England by March 2024.

Death

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment his Department has made of levels of excess deaths in (a) 2023 and (b) the 2015-2019 average. what assessment he has made of the potential links between excess deaths and age; and what the most common causes of excess deaths are in people under 50.

Neil O'Brien: There are several organisations producing estimates of excess deaths using different methods. Excess deaths are the difference between registered deaths and the number expected each week.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) reports monthly on Excess Mortality in England and English regions, and more information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/excess-mortality-in-england-and-english-regionsOHID’s expected deaths are based on the trend in mortality rates in England for the five years 2015 to 2019. Estimates of excess deaths are therefore not available for the pre-pandemic period using the same methodology. OHID estimates take change in population size and ageing into account.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also publishes weekly estimates of excess deaths, which are available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwalesONS expected deaths are based on a simple five-year average of deaths registered each week in previous years. For deaths in 2023, the five-year average is based on deaths in 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2022.In the weeks ending 6 January 2023 to 29 September 2023, OHID estimates that there have been 23,001 excess deaths in England, 6% more deaths than expected. Over this period, there were only three weeks that did not have any excess deaths, namely the weeks ending 10 March 2023, 14 April 2023, and 7 July 2023.Additionally, over the same period, ONS estimates that there have been 24,292 excess deaths in England which, like OHID’s estimate, is 6% higher than expected. However, ONS figures show that seven weeks over the period did not have excess deaths, these being the weeks ending 10 and 17 February 2023, 14 April 2023, 21 and 28 July 2023, 29 September 2023, and 6 October 2023.Numbers of excess deaths generally increase with age and OHID estimates that excess deaths in England over this same period above were highest in those aged 85 and over, specifically 6,955 deaths. However, the relative excess was highest in the 50 to 64 age group where excess deaths were 14% higher than expected, specifically 5,278 deaths.Of the causes of death which OHID routinely report on, deaths involving cardiovascular diseases including heart disease and stroke, and acute respiratory diseases including flu and pneumonia had the highest numbers of excess deaths for those aged under 50 in England in January to June 2023. Data for later months are not available.

NHS: Software

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the integration of the My Planned Care platform with the NHS app to be delivered.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Diagnosis

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many diagnostic tests that had to be repeated in each of the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Kidney Research UK's recent report entitled Kidney Disease: a UK public health emergency, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of available data on the rate at which patients progress through the stages of chronic kidney disease.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Care Workers: Zero-hours Contracts

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of care workers on zero-hours contracts.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Screening

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the final evaluation report for the secondary care routine reflux cohort of the Cytosponge test.

Will Quince: NHS England is currently finalising and approving the evaluation report before publication. Once approved the report will be published.

Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: No money was spent by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) on equality and diversity training in 2022/23. ACCIA regional sub-committee members are volunteers and receive annual internal training featuring equality and diversity, delivered by the ACCIA Medical Director as part of his role.

Health Services: Cameras

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of body cameras that have been issued to (a) doctors and (b) nurses in hospitals since 1 January 2023; and what guidance his Department has issued on the use of body cameras in healthcare settings.

Will Quince: The information requested is not held centrally.National Health Service organisations are responsible for putting in place their own policies and procedures to support staff, giving them access to appropriate training and making arrangements for security. Some hospitals have taken a local decision to fund and introduce body worn cameras for their staff.To provide additional support nationally, £8.4 million has been invested by NHS England into the ambulance service to explore the efficacy of body worn cameras in reducing violence and abuse. As of January 2023, over 9,400 cameras have been made available to ambulance staff with an independent evaluation currently underway and a final report expected towards the end of 2024. In 2019 NHS England established an NHS Violence Reduction Programme, which aims to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families and the public, and mitigate the effects of violence and abuse on NHS staff.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help patients with ADHD access necessary medication.

Will Quince: We are aware of supply issues affecting medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We have issued communications, in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert, to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients during this time. We continue to work closely with manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to ADHD medicines in the United Kingdom. We anticipate that the supply disruption will resolve at various dates between October and December 2023.

Palliative Care

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support patients receiving end-of-life care.

Will Quince: As set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, it is the legal duty of integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission palliative and end of life care to meet the needs of their local population. To support commissioners to fulfil this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for both adults, and children and young people, which provide guidance to ICBs on enabling high-quality commissioning of services that meet both population need and preferences.In addition, ICBs are supported by Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks which work to progress and implement sustainable commissioning models for equitable, high-quality services.

Rare Diseases: Drugs

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking modular updates on topics relevant to rare diseases since the publication of its updated process and methods for health technology evaluation on 31 January 2022.

Will Quince: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has no current plans to undertake a modular update of its methods and processes related specifically to rare diseases. NICE specifically considered treatments for rare diseases during its methods review, and many of the changes introduced in NICE’s updated health technology evaluation manual in January 2022 will benefit treatments for rare diseases. These include the severity modifier, flexibility in uncertainty considerations and the emphasis on a comprehensive evidence base including real-world, qualitative, surrogate, and expert evidence. These updates mitigate the barriers faced by rare disease technologies while maintaining an evidence-based, robust, and proportionate evaluation approach.

Epilepsy: Health Services

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support people living with epilepsy.

Will Quince: The majority of health services for people with epilepsy are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of epilepsy, subject to local prioritisation and funding.At a national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement for those with epilepsy, including NHS England’s Neuroscience Service Transformation Programme and RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit.

NHS: Health Professions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS physicians there were per 10,000 people in January (a) 2010 and (b) 2023.

Will Quince: As of January 2010, there were 18.1 full time equivalent doctors per 10,000 head of population in England. As of January 2023, there were 23.1 full time equivalent doctors per 10,000 head of population in England.

Health Services: Digital Technology

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what digital health collaboration is in place between the UK and (a) India, (b) Japan and (c) Israel as of 13 October 2023.

Will Quince: The Department has been working with India during its G20 presidency this year, to achieve resilient, equitable and sustainable Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all through digital health, one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.The Department has also been working with Japan during its G7 presidency this year, to ensure United Kingdom digital health priorities are appropriately reflected within this year’s Health Track and to explore how innovation, including digital, can help overcome some of our most pressing health challenges such as ageing populations and rising comorbidities.In November 2021, the UK and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to deepen and expand cooperation across mutual priorities, including Cyber, Health, Science and Technology. Israel and the UK committed to leveraging their combined research and innovation strengths to address mutual challenges, in areas such as, the COVID-19 pandemic, the future effectiveness and streamlining of health systems, and the life sciences.

Tourette's Syndrome: Health Services

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors its Department (a) considers and (b) advocates as a priority on the cross-agency topic prioritisation group; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cross-agency topic prioritisation group includes senior executives from NICE, NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department. When deciding which topics to prioritise for guideline development, and in what order, the group considers system priorities and clinical need, including factors such as the health and care burden, the evidence base and variation in practice. To build on the work of this group, NICE’s Chief Medical Officer is establishing a new prioritisation board. NICE will make further information about the factors this board will consider in its decisions available on its website in due course.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the proposed update to the 2023 statutory scheme to control the cost of branded health services medicines, whether other policy options were included on his Department's long-list as alternatives to those included in the final consultation.

Will Quince: The statutory scheme consultation sets out the options under consideration. We are in the process of analysing the responses provided, including consideration of any alternative options proposed, and will update on our preferred policy approach later this year.

Department of Health and Social Care: Mental Health Services

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of contracting (a) rehabilitation, (b) therapy and (c) other similar services for key workers.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made of the potential merits of contracting rehabilitation, therapy, and other services for key workers in the National Health Service. NHS England has developed a range of health and wellbeing initiatives, including a health and wellbeing guardian role, a focus on healthy working environments, empowering line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their wellbeing, and a comprehensive emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support package.NHS England has also published a ‘Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Together’ strategy. This sets out a roadmap for the NHS and partner organisations to work together to develop and invest in occupational health and wellbeing services for NHS staff over the next five years.To ensure there is a long-term sustainable approach to supporting staff, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has tasked integrated care systems with developing and implementing plans, in line with NHS England’s strategy, to invest in occupational health and wellbeing services.

Liver Diseases: Disadvantaged

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will commission research into a potential link between rates of liver disease and higher associated mortality rates in areas of deprivation.

Will Quince: The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds and supports health, public health and social care research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those with liver disease.The Department does not directly commission research, we invite funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including liver disease. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. It is also worth noting that all applications that were fundable in open competition have been funded.

NHS: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the approval thresholds for new medications used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Will Quince: There are no plans to review the standard cost-effectiveness range that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) uses in the evaluation of new medicines. NICE is responsible for the methods and processes it uses for health technology assessment, and concluded a comprehensive review of its methods and processes for the evaluation of new medicines in January 2022. As a result of the review, NICE introduced a new severity modifier that enables NICE to apply a weighting to medicines licensed for the treatment of more severe diseases. NICE is able to recommend the majority of medicines it appraises for use on the National Health Service, often as a result of confidential commercial agreements struck between the NHS and companies.

Hospital Beds

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release of 15 August 2023 on £250 million to boost NHS capacity with 900 new beds, what baseline number was used to calculate the announcement of 5,000 additional beds as part of the permanent bed base for winter.

Will Quince: The number of National Health Service planned core general and acute beds in 2022/23 was 94,500. The 5,000 additional beds will take the core bed base to 99,500 this winter.

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: Children

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to research into treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in children in each of the past 10 years.

Will Quince: As with other Government funders of health research, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by different factors, including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).Since 2013, the NIHR has supported delivery in the health and care system for eight DIPG research studies, funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. NIHR provides infrastructure support to studies taking place in the National Health Service. For example, staff, research nurses, local networks and NHS trusts will work across many studies, to varying degrees. As a result, NIHR cannot provide precise information on expenditure. In May 2018 the government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. The Government is committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research. The £40 million funding remains available.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many elective procedures were cancelled in each of the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The Department does not hold data on the number of elective procedures cancelled monthly for the last year, however NHS England publish the amount of cancelled elective operations per quarter. The number of last-minute elective operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons were 21,273 in Q3 2022/23, 18,975 in Q4 2022/23, and most recently 17,024 in Q1 2023/24.

Phlebotomy

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to retain NHS phlebotomists.

Will Quince: The NHS People Plan and the NHS People Promise set out a comprehensive range of actions to improve staff retention. They provide a strong focus on creating a more modern, compassionate and inclusive National Health Service culture by strengthening health and wellbeing, equality and diversity, culture and leadership and flexible working.NHS priorities and operational planning guidance 2023/24 has asked systems to refresh their 2022/23 whole system workforce plans to improve staff retention through a systematic focus on all elements of the NHS People Promise. Staff wellbeing should be strategically aligned with elective recovery plans, including workforce demand and capacity planning. In addition, the NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay while keeping them well.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan builds on the NHS People Plan and sets out how to improve culture and leadership to ensure that up to 130,000 fewer staff leave the NHS over the next 15 years. This includes implementing actions from the NHS People Plan that have been shown to be successful, implementing plans to improve flexible opportunities for prospective retirees and delivering the actions needed to modernise the NHS pension scheme.These interventions apply across staff groups, including phlebotomists.

Atorvastatin and Bumetanide: Shortages

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of shortages in prescription drugs (a) Atorvastatin and (b) Bumetanide on patients who are regularly prescribed those drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: We are aware of recent supply constraints affecting atorvastatin tablets, although supplies have now improved. We continue to work with wholesalers and all suppliers to understand what steps can be taken to further improve the situation. Deliveries are continuing to be made and we are closely monitoring the situation.We are aware of supply constraints affecting bumetanide tablets, although alternative products remain available. We have issued communications to the National Health Service to advise healthcare professionals on management of patients during this time. We continue to work closely with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need.

Lung Diseases: Health Education

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of pulmonary fibrosis.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to (a) early diagnosis and (b) treatment for people living with pulmonary fibrosis.

Will Quince: Patients with pulmonary fibrosis are cared for by National Health Service regional specialist Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) services, who are commissioned by NHS England. To be referred to a specialist service patients need to be identified in primary and secondary care. Early and accurate diagnosis is a priority for NHS England, and the work to improve this area of clinical care is underway, which should have an impact on reducing delayed diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis.NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of services for ILD and funds the cost of anti-fibrotic treatments to treat this disease. Access to these treatments has recently been expanded to patients with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis following the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal ‘Nintedanib for treating progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases’ in November 2021.The Department has no plans for an awareness campaign.

Integrated Care Systems: Finance

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total aggregate deficit of Integrated Care Systems was in England in financial year 2022-23.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total aggregate deficit of NHS trusts was in England in financial year 2022-23.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Systems were in deficit in financial year 2022-23.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts in England were in financial deficit in financial year 2022-23.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Systems  were in deficit in financial year 2023-24 as of 15 September 2023.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts in England were in deficit in financial year 2023-24 as of 15 September 2023.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total aggregate value of the financial deficit for all Integrated Care Systems was in financial year 2023-24 as of 15 September 2023.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total aggregate value of the financial deficit for all NHS trusts was in England in financial year 2023-24 as of 15 September 2023.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total level of debt amongst all NHS integrated care systems in England.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total level of debt across all NHS trusts in England as of September 2023.

Will Quince: The table below provides a breakdown of the aggregate deficit position in Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and NHS providers at 2022-23 year-end. Aggregate deficit positions for 2023-24 will be published in the Department of Health and Social Care annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024.  2022-23 Year endTotal Aggregate Deficit (£m):ICS*633NHS providers (NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts)702Number of organisations in deficit:ICS*20NHS providers (NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts)71 Source: NHS England Note: *Includes Integrated Care Boards plus NHS providers  The 2022-23 year-end debt position of each individual organisation in the NHS will be confirmed in their individual balance sheets included in their accounts, and in aggregate in the DHSC Annual Report and Accounts, due to be published later this year. The Department does not hold in-year reporting data on debt.

St James' Hospital Portsmouth: Sales

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the revenue his Department will receive from the sale of St James' Hospital in Portsmouth.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the fiscal impact of the sale of St James' Hospital in Portsmouth.

Will Quince: Until the sale of St James’ Hospital is completed, information on the price achieved is commercially sensitive. The Land Registry updates the entry for the site with details of the purchase, including the sale price, usually within six weeks of the date of completion of the sale. NHS Property Services (NHSPS) itself will respond to any queries following formal completion of the sale.Any net sale proceeds generated from disposals by NHSPS are reinvested in capital projects within the wider NHSPS portfolio, with up to 50% of net disposal proceeds being allocated to local priorities. This sale will also release NHSPS and therefore the department from further costs relating to the site.As part of the planning application process with Portsmouth County Council there are reports and documents online which detail the different environmental, social and economic considerations of the proposals; these are available at the following link:https://publicaccess.portsmouth.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?previousCaseType=Property&keyVal=Q5N8TLMO0N200&previousCaseNumber=000TIXMOBU000&previousCaseUprn=001775048808&activeTab=summary&previousKeyVal=001RZKMOLI000.

St James' Hospital Portsmouth: Listed Buildings

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons the transfer and sale of St James Hospital in Portsmouth was split into two phases; and what assessment he has made of the impact of transfer of the building on its Grade II listed buildings and curtilage.

Will Quince: Portsmouth NHS Clinical Commissioning Group declared the hospital site as surplus in 2014. NHS Property Services, the owners of the site, engaged with Portsmouth County Council to develop a Masterplan which involved a two-phase approach, with the Council inviting Homes England to purchase part of the site, which was completed in 2015. Phase 1 was for an affordable housing scheme and Phase 2 for the conversion of the listed hospital building and new build residential units. The intention was for Phase 1 to be developed before the remainder of the site (Phase 2) became vacant.The conversion of listed buildings such as St James’ Hospital is a sustainable way of maintaining heritage assets and ensuring their preservation in the long term. The current planning applications for both Homes England’s Phase 1 affordable housing scheme and Phase 2 for the conversion of the listed buildings and new build residential units, reflect the original Masterplan.

Surgery

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many operations were carried out by the NHS in each year since 2010.

Will Quince: The following table shows the number of admissions with a procedure, outpatient attendances with a procedure, and the total for procedures carried out for each year 2010-2023: Admitted episodes with a procedureOutpatient attendances with a procedureTotal (admitted episodes and outpatient attendances with a procedure)2010/1110,100,12812,589,63522,689,7632011/1210,413,16314,277,56124,690,7242012/1310,594,81415,869,39126,464,2052013/1411,029,75820,185,29431,215,0522014/1511,341,91322,399,92833,741,8412015/1611,606,48824,928,68336,535,1712016/1711,892,89427,579,55239,472,4462017/1811,897,54228,698,01240,595,5542018/1912,164,26430,861,27343,025,5372019/2012,281,98531,624,38343,906,3682020/219,097,62921,139,84130,237,4702021/2211,582,86628,616,45040,199,3162022/2312,030,81030,060,34442,091,154 Note: Due to a change in methodology in the way procedures were recorded by NHS England after 2012-13, figures from before and including 2012-13 may not be entirely comparable to 2013-14 onwards.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Health Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments.

Maria Caulfield: We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when commissioning services, including assessment services. On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service. Additionally, in 2023/24, £4.2 million is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services. NHS England publishes data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment and for how long, which provides useful information nationally and locally to support local areas to improve their performance and to reduce diagnosis waiting times. NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. They do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD. Data on the number of people on a waiting list for an assessment for ADHD and waiting for a diagnosis is not held centrally but may be held locally by individual NHS trusts. The Department is looking into options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines. In addition, we are supporting ICBs to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to increasing investment into mental health services by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 so that an additional two million people can get the support they need.

Dental Services: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to dentistry services in Portsmouth South constituency.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people on waiting lists for dentistry appointments in Portsmouth South constituency.

Neil O'Brien: Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. Therefore, neither Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) nor NHS England hold any information regarding waitlists for dentistry appointments.To facilitate access for patients, Additional Access sessions have been commissioned in this ICB since 2020, where practices deliver sessions above the contracted activity levels normally commissioned to help patients access care if they have an urgent treatment need. There are three practices taking part in this scheme in Hampshire based in Eastleigh, Gosport, and Portsmouth.We are currently working on a plan for dentistry, to improve access to dental care across England. There are several fronts where we need to take further action to support and recover activity in NHS dentistry, to improve access to care for all ages.Our Dentistry Recovery Plan will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver NHS care.

Health Services: Standards

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to introduce the concept of compassionate healthcare across all NHS services in England.

Maria Caulfield: Compassionate healthcare is expected of all services within the National Health Service in England. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) provides regulatory oversight by assessing service providers on whether services are safe, effective, responsive, well-led and caring. For caring, CQC assesses a service provider on whether staff involve and treat patients with compassion, kindness, dignity, and respect.

Autism: Avon and Wiltshire

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the waiting list for autism assessments in Avon and Wiltshire.

Maria Caulfield: We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism when commissioning services. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provisionEach ICB in England is expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, supporting the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including in relation to appropriate autism assessment pathways. NHS England has published guidance on these roles.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment pathways and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.In addition, NHS England publish quarterly data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment and for how long. These are experimental statistics; however, the data does provide useful information nationally and locally to support local areas to improve their performance and to reduce assessment waiting times.

Ophthalmic Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase support for patients' mental health after a sight loss diagnosis.

Maria Caulfield: We recognise the value of emotional support for those facing sight loss, which can lead to anxiety, social isolation, and depression. NHS England has published a patient support toolkit for eye care commissioners and providers. The toolkit aims to ensure patients with ophthalmic conditions or sight loss are supported throughout their eye care journey.We are expanding and transforming mental health services within the National Health Service in England, backed by additional funding of £2.3 billion a year by March 2024. This will allow an extra two million people, including those with sight loss, to get the mental health support that they need. Patients can be referred into NHS Talking Therapies by their general practitioner or can self-refer directly.To further strengthen the support available to patients, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has been working with stakeholders, including NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Eye Care, to develop a patient support pathway for health and social care professionals to help standardise the support that should be available to patients through their eye care journey.

Dental Services: Registration

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body collects and collates data on (a) NHS and (b) private dentist registrations in England.

Neil O'Brien: The General Dental Council is the independent statutory regulator of dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom. As such, it holds a register of qualified dental professionals. It does not, however, hold data on whether a registrant is practising in the National Health Service or privately.A dentist must be listed on the England Dental Performers List (DPL) to deliver NHS dental services in England. The data for DPL is managed by NHS England.

Autism: Children and Young People

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support the NHS provides to (a) children and (b) young adults after receiving an autism diagnosis.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for York Outer on 12 September 2023 to Question 197738.

Autism: Health Services

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle autism assessment backlogs.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt Hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on 8 September 2023 to Question 195909.

Gynaecology

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) funding and (b) guidance provided to public bodies delivering menstrual (i) products and (ii) services.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to offer both flu and covid-19 vaccines to people aged 50 to 64 in winter 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) guides the approach to the immunisation programmes in England. For both the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes, the JCVI have advised a targeted approach to protect the most vulnerable from severe disease (hospitalisation and death) including older individuals and individuals with specified existing clinical conditions and the Government accepted that advice. The current COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes started in England on 11 September 2023. Following advice from the JCVI, the following groups are eligible for vaccination in the 2023/24 flu vaccination programme:- those aged 65 years old and over;- those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups;- pregnant women;- all children aged two or three years old on 31 August 2023;- eligible school aged children (Reception to Year 11);- those in long-stay residential care homes;- carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person;- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals; and- frontline health and social care workers. On 8 August 2023, the Government accepted advice from the JCVI on who should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine in the autumn 2023 booster programme. The eligible groups are:- residents and staff in a care home for older adults;- all adults aged 65 years and over;- persons aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group;- frontline health and social care workers;- persons aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression; and- persons aged 16 to 64 years who are carers. Currently therefore, those aged 50 to 64 years old are not, based on age alone, eligible for COVID-19 vaccination or free flu vaccination in the current vaccination programmes. However, if individuals meet any of the eligibility criteria for flu and/or COVID-19 vaccination set out above, they will be able to receive vaccination(s). The JCVI will continue to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding future vaccination programmes in due course.

Vulnerable Adults: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on multi-agency working to support vulnerable adults.

Maria Caulfield: Departmental ministers have regular discussions and board meetings with Home Office ministers on a range of issues. Recent discussions with the Home Office concerning multi-agency working to support vulnerable adults include meetings on asylum accommodation, reduction of deaths in custody, prevention of violence against women and girls, and mental health and policing.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: In 2022/23, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence spent £81,270.50 on equality and diversity training.

Cystic Fibrosis: Health Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the NHS has adequate numbers of cystic fibrosis specialists.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The modelling and staff training plans presented in the Plan look at the NHS as a whole at a high level to inform government decisions on the workforce. This is designed to identify the right supply of staff across all clinical pathways and specialisms rather than workforce plans for specific services.

Tomography

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost of doubling (a) Magnetic resonance imaging and (b) computerised tomography scanning capacity in the NHS over a five year period.

Will Quince: No estimate has been made.As part of the Government’s commitment to increase diagnostics services, £2.3 billion of funding has been awarded to transform diagnostic services over the next three years which will help to increase the number of community diagnostic centres up to 160 by March 2025, expanding and protecting elective planned diagnostic services. The remainder of the funding will increase capacity for imaging, endoscopy as well as lung and mammography screening, and improve digital diagnostics.

Fractures: Osteoporosis

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of joint working between (a) health services, (b) social care services and (c) local councils on the prevention of fractures caused by osteoporosis.

Will Quince: I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2023 to Question 192563.

Blood Cancer: Research

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans with Cabinet colleagues to increase research funding into the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of blood cancers.

Will Quince: As with other Government funders of health research, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors, including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including blood cancers.The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis & treatment of blood cancers since 2018:Number of projectsTotal Awards ValueBlood Cancer Diagnosis11£11.9 millionBlood Cancer Treatment14£14,7 millionBlood Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment4£7,712

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government is taking steps to reduce inequalities in access to medicinal cannabis prescribed under the NHS.

Will Quince: Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available on the National Health Service. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.Funding of unlicensed products is subject to local National Health Service decisions on a case-by-case basis. These decisions follow clearly developed procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality, and clinical and cost effectiveness.We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.

Drugs: Patients

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help manage the (a) affordability and (b) value for money in the cost of medicines purchased by patients.

Will Quince: The Department has no role in the costs of medicines purchased in the private sector.

Hospital Beds

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staffed hospital beds were in use in the NHS on 27 September (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Will Quince: The data is not collected in the format requested.Monthly data shows that there were 98,949 general and acute beds available in September 2023 and 98,328 in September 2022.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on the level of the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access tax rebate.

Will Quince: I met with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and other relevant trade associations in advance of negotiations for the successor to the 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access starting on 4 May 2023.Negotiations are being overseen by Sir Hugh Taylor who brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise. Government is seeking a deal that meets the three agreed objectives of supporting patient access to: innovative medicines; ensuring the affordability of National Health Service spend on medicines and; supporting the life sciences sector and the wider economy.

Dementia: Medical Treatments

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that new disease-modifying treatments for dementia will be available on the NHS.

Will Quince: To be made routinely available to National Health Service patients in England, new medicines must receive a marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and a positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to demonstrate clinical and cost effectiveness.A number of potential new disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are in development and MHRA, NICE, NHS England and the Department are working closely to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and NICE recommended treatment for Alzheimer’s disease as soon as possible.NICE’s appraisal of lecanemab for treating early Alzheimer's disease is currently underway and, subject to licensing and the company engaging in the process, NICE expects to publish final guidance in July 2024 as close to licence as possible. NICE is also due to begin its appraisal of donanemab for treating early Alzheimer’s disease later this year.To prepare for these appraisals, and the expected pipeline of further disease modifying dementia treatments, the NICE Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory has already started working on identifying potential challenges that might face the evaluation of these medicines and ways of addressing them.

Coeliac Disease: Endoscopy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to develop coeliac endoscopy NHS waiting lists.

Will Quince: Whilst patients on coeliac endoscopy pathways will be recorded, there are currently no plans to publish specialty level data for coeliac endoscopy National Health Service waiting lists.NHS England collects and publishes monthly referral to treatment (RTT) data which is used to monitor NHS waiting times performance against the standards set out in the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012.RTT data currently includes waiting list data for 23 treatment pathway categories, where one of these is gastroenterology.

Cardiovascular System: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase (a) funding and (b) staffing levels for vascular care.

Will Quince: The Government has and will continue to prioritise investment into the National Health Service. Funding confirmed at the last Spending Review was on top of the historic long-term NHS settlement announced in 2018. Taken together with funding announced at the Autumn Statement 2022, this means that the NHS resource budget in England will increase in cash terms to £165.8 billion in 2024/25, up from £123.4 billion in 2019/20.It is for local integrated care systems to determine the appropriate funding for vascular care for their populations. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to double the number of medical school training places. As these students graduate, we will work with stakeholders to ensure the commensurate growth in specialty training places is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.The cardiology specialty has seen a higher-than-average increase in the numbers of doctors working in the NHS. There are over 1,400 (63%) more doctors working in the cardiology specialty, including over 700 (89%) more cardiology consultants, compared to 2010.

Hospitals: Construction

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of the projects funded through the New Hospital Programme are under construction.

Will Quince: The New Hospital Programme continues to work closely with all schemes announced as part of the programme to ensure they deliver for patients, staff and communities.We’re continuing to make progress on the New Hospital Programme, which is expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment, with three schemes already open, two more opening this year and 21 in construction or with work begun to prepare the site.The Programme will be releasing further funding across all schemes in the Programme in Cohorts 3, 4 and the RAAC schemes in the 2023/24 financial year to support business case development for enabling works.By the end of next year, we expect more than 20 schemes to be underway or complete.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require breast cancer screening invitations to include an appointment time.

Will Quince: During the COVID-19 pandemic, timed appointments were no longer deemed feasible for the recovery of services, based on expert opinion. Services moved to an ‘open appointment’ system where women contacted services to agree a time slot suitable for them.All services have now recovered, and some have returned to the timed appointments. Several services have retained an open system as they have noted increased uptake and patient satisfaction.NHS England have commissioned a series of national evaluative projects being led by Professor Stephen Duffy and his team at Queen Mary’s University of London, to provide evidence to inform NHS England on the most appropriate invitation methodology to underpin future pathway changes and improvements in the national screening programme. These are due to report March 2024.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase access to cannabis-based medicinal products on the NHS.

Will Quince: Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available on the National Health Service. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.Funding of unlicensed products is subject to local NHS decisions on a case-by-case basis. These decisions follow clearly developed procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality and clinical and cost effectiveness.We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.

Endoscopy: Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership and  Warrington

Andy Carter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce endoscopy waiting lists in (a) Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System and (b) Warrington.

Will Quince: In July 2023, Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) delivered 1,997 more gastroscopy procedures in July 2023 than in July 2018. Alongside this increase of almost 2,000 procedures, 70% of patients who require a gastroscopy are now seen within six weeks.Cheshire and Merseyside ICS has also secured funding to support the delivery of more than 1,000 additional endoscopy procedures across Cheshire and Merseyside by the end of December 2023. Cheshire and Merseyside’s Diagnostic Programme is also progressing a number of workforce initiatives including a collaborative staff bank for the endoscopy workforce and an endoscopy academy to provide training and upskilling for the endoscopy workforce.Cutting National Health Service waiting lists, including for endoscopy services, is one of this Government’s top priorities. This is a shared ambition amongst ICSs, including the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS.£2.3 billion was awarded at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years to increase diagnostic capacity, including for endoscopy services. This funding will also increase the number of community diagnostic centres up to 160 by March 2025, including a number delivering endoscopy services.

Genetics: Life Insurance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of including references to conditions other than Huntington’s disease in the code on genetic testing and insurance.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted research on the guidance provided to insurance companies by the governments of other European countries on requesting information about the genetic history of life insurance applicants.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with providers of life insurance on the level of premiums offered to applicants who have tested negative for Huntington's disease.

Will Quince: The Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance is a shared agreement between the Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on the use of genetic testing in underwriting insurance policies.  Compliance with the Code, and the adoption of the Commitments in the Code, is a condition of membership for all ABI members.The Government and the ABI launched a Call for Evidence on the Code on 25 July 2023 and closed on 17 October 2023. The Call for Evidence gathered views around how to transparently assess which predictive genetic test results may need to be disclosed under the Code in the future, as well as whether approaches used in other countries should be considered.The ABI has recently published a revised Consumer Guide to the Code, which directly addresses concerns about the level of premiums offered to applicants who have tested negative for Huntington's disease. The consumer guide is available at the following link:https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/genetics/abi-consumer-guide-2023---code-on-genetic-testing-and-insurance.pdfWhile no specific conversations have taken place with life insurance providers, the Government continues to work closely with the ABI to ensure the Code remains fit for purpose and beneficial to both consumers and the insurance industry.

NHS: Technology

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve NHS procurement of new technology.

Will Quince: The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Supply Chain to improve National Health Service procurement of innovative medical technology.Building on the work of NHS Supply Chain to consider the potential benefits and practical application of value-based procurement (VBP), we are developing a consistent methodology for VBP to be adopted at a national and local level. This aims to shift procurement decisions away from an emphasis on reducing product costs to consider technologies that represent a reduction in total costs within the patient pathway.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will undertake new Multi-Technology Evaluations of technologies in use and at a later stage in their lifecycle. These evaluations will enable comparisons between similar products, so that we can send a clear, evidence-based signal on value to NHS decision makers, clinicians, and patients.The Department is consulting on proposals to update processes on applications to the Part IX of the drug tariff in primary care. The proposals include increasing patient input into decision making, recognising what makes a product valuable to a patient.

Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing care to those with (a) PANS and (b) PANDAS who have (i) been hospitalised and (ii) left with enduring and life-changing symptoms after receiving in-effective healthcare treatment.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has made no such estimate as the number of patients affected in this way is currently unknown.

Special Educational Needs: Speech and Language Therapy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities receive an initial assessment for speech and language therapy within an appropriate time scale; and how long he plans that a child should wait for an initial assessment.

Maria Caulfield: The Government is taking several steps to help ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive an initial assessment for speech and language therapy as quickly as possible following referral. In September 2023, the Department for Education launched 'Early Language Support for Every Child' (ELSEC), with NHS England. ELSEC is a two-year pathfinder programme which will fund innovative workforce models to improve early identification and support for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs within early years and primary school settings. ELSEC will take place in nine sites across England, one in each Change Programme Partnership. It is running across two academic years from September 2023 to August 2025.The ELSEC pilots are one of several components of the wider £70 million Change Programme that is testing some of the key reforms set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.The Department of Health and Social Care is also working with the Department of Education to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning in recognition of the demand for specialist services. We have established a steering group to oversee this work and aim to complete it by 2025. To establish the evidence base needed to inform this work, the Department of Health and Social Care published a research specification paper on 19 September 2023, Demand for therapists for children and young people with SEND, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research to help understand the gaps between the supply of therapies and the demand for therapy in children and young people with SEND.

Members: Correspondence

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 14 June 2023 from the hon. Member for Solihull, reference JK40690.

Will Quince: We have received the hon. Member’s correspondence and will reply in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Armed Forces personnel live in Single Living Accommodation in each region.

James Cartlidge: The information requested by the hon. Member is enclosed in the table below: UK regions:SLA England55,136Northern Ireland1,134Scotland4,870Wales624Total:61,764 Notes:The information in the above table has been sourced from the Single Living Accommodation Management Information System (SLAMIS) Booking Tool as at Monday 16 October 2023. The data represents the Occupied Count: this is defined as the number of Service personnel who currently occupy a bedspace in an accommodation building within a Defence Establishment.

Ministry of Defence: Cybersecurity

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the IT failure in the week beginning 2 October 2023.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has ruled out a hostile state actor being behind the IT failure in the week beginning 2 October 2023.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the extent was of the IT failure that effected his Department in the week beginning 2 October 2023.

James Cartlidge: The recent outage experienced in the week beginning 2 October 2023 was an estate-wide degradation of Microsoft Office applications on the Ministry of Defence’s IT system. After conducting extensive technical investigations, the root cause was established to be a technical issue. System performance has now been restored.

Armed Forces: Housing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2022 to Question 96563 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many service personnel were living in grade four single living accommodation in each region of the UK as of 16 October 2023.

James Cartlidge: The attached table shows a count of Service personnel who occupied Permanent Single Living Accommodation Grade 4 and Below Grade 4 on 16 October 2023. The table has been broken down by region as recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration System. Service Personnel living in grade 4 accommodation (xlsx, 28.1KB)

Royal Hospital School

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2023 to Question 199707 on Royal Hospital School, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to reform and modernise the governance of Greenwich Hospital, including the governance of the Royal Hospital School.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are committed to ensuring Greenwich Hospital governance is reformed to best serve Royal Navy and Royal Marines beneficiaries. This will include the governance of the Royal Hospital School. We will look to legislate when Parliamentary time allows.

Defence Committee

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what occasions his Department has allowed serving members of the Armed Forces to give (a) oral and (b) written evidence to an inquiry by the Defence (i) Select Committee and (ii) Sub-Committee since 2010.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has granted dispensation for Serving personnel to provide written evidence to the following inquiries since 2010, following requests from the respective Committee Chairs: Defence Committee: Armed Forces Covenant in Action? Part 3: Service Personnel children (2012)Mental Health and the Armed Forces, Part Two: The Provision of Care inquiry (2018) Women in the Armed Forces: Follow-Up (2023)Defence Sub-Committee Women in the Armed Forces: From Recruitment to Civilian Life (2021)Service Accommodation (2023)

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason his Department has not given permission for serving members of the Armed Forces to give oral evidence to the Defence Sub-Committee inquiry into Service Accommodation.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Serving members of the Armed Forces have been given dispensation to give oral evidence to the committee.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether nuclear test veterans whose health data is incomplete should submit subject access requests to his Department to recover this information.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Nuclear test veterans are entitled to use the existing subject access request process to apply for their records. Medical records, if available, will be released as part of that process, however it is not possible to determine exactly what information or records will be yielded until searches are conducted following receipt of an individual’s request.

Veterans: Housing

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) Scottish veterans charities to help increase the construction of homes specifically for veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) in the Cabinet Office is responsible for cross-government and UK wide coordination of efforts to support veterans. The £20 million Veteran Capital Housing Fund is being administered by the Covenant Fund Trust on behalf of the OVA:https://covenantfund.org.uk/2023/09/12/veterans-capital-housing-fund-launches-first-programmes/ The Ministry of Defence is not responsible for the housing provision for veterans. Housing in Scotland is a devolved matter and charities are independent of the government. It would be a decision for the Scottish Government and Scottish veterans' charities if they wish to build homes exclusively for veterans.

Ministry of Defence: Vodafone Group

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will review the adequacy of his Department's contracts with Vodafone, in the context of the proposed merger of Three and Vodafone.

James Cartlidge: Whilst the Ministry of Defence has reviewed our material Vodafone contracts, we do not comment on specific commercial activity such as acquisitions, or speculation arising from, and in relation to, such activity.

Veterans

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the APPG for Veteran's Survey Findings relating to respondents' awareness of activities undertaken by the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committee (VAPCS), what steps he plans to take to enhance awareness among (a) veterans and (b) military personnel of the role of in providing support to veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges the results of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Veterans’ survey. The MOD has already taken steps towards raising awareness of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees by delivering on its commitment to capture the breadth of their activities through a Private Member’s Bill that has now been passed into law. The passage of this Act has raised broader awareness of the role of the Committees and the support they provide to our Armed Forces community at a regional level. The issue of how the Committees communicate within their regions and with relevant stakeholders, forms part of both their public bodies independent review and the UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans, which were published in July 2023. The MOD and Office for Veterans' Affairs, along with other stakeholders, will now consider these reports and will develop an action plan to address findings and recommendations, with a focus on implementing meaningful change that will enhance service effectiveness and delivery. The Government’s response to these reports will be published later in the year.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of nuclear test veterans who have applied for compensation been not been granted compensation.

Dr Andrew Murrison: This information is not collated or held electronically and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Veterans

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the all-party parliamentary group for veteran's survey findings, published in 2023, what steps he is taking to (a) strengthen the services provided by Veterans UK, (b) ensure that veterans receive high-quality (i) care, (ii) support and (iii) communication throughout the process of claiming compensation and (c) ensure that veterans' physical and mental health is taken into consideration during that process.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) welcomes the results of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG's) recent survey. The MOD also undertakes a variety of surveys and canvassing to ensure it is giving serving personnel, their families and veterans what they need to pursue their careers and ensure their lived experience is positive.Many of the issues raised by veterans relate specifically to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) which is subject to the Quinquennial Review. The latest Quinquennial Review was published on 17 July 2023. Its aim is to ensure that the AFCS remains fit for purpose and identify opportunities for improvement. Its recommendations are currently being considered, and a Government response will be published later this year.We recognise delays do happen and we are always working to minimise these but the interaction and dependency on OGDs, in particular the NHS means some delays are outside our control. The need to obtain proper, full, comprehensive medical reports from claimant's medical practitioners being the most frequent reason for delay.The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) helps Veterans with form completion for MOD administered schemes and signposting to entitlements and support available from the wider public and voluntary sectors.

AUKUS

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the use of artificial intelligence for the Armed Forces in AUKUS Pillar Two.

James Cartlidge: AUKUS Pillar Two, continues to accelerate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Autonomy to provide the technological edge in our warfighting capability through prototyping, experimentation, and acquisition.In April 2023, the first AUKUS AI and Autonomy trial was held at Upavon in Wiltshire. The trial achieved several world firsts, including the live retraining of models in flight and the interchange of AI models between AUKUS nations. Trilateral partners will look to rapidly drive these technologies into responsible military use.

Ministry of Defence: CK Group

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have met representatives from CK Group since 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Military Bases and Sovereignty

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on negotiations with Mauritius over the British Indian Ocean Territory / Chagos Archipelago; and what steps he is taking to ensure the continued effective operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.

James Heappey: The joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia plays a crucial role in combating some of the most challenging threats to regional and international security.The UK and Mauritius have conducted several rounds of negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory. This work is being led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.The UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between our two countries will ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.

Israel: Defence Equipment

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether military equipment supplied from the UK has been used by Israel in its recent military operations in Gaza.

James Heappey: The Government operates a robust and thorough pre-licensing assessment against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with that criteria.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: EUFOR

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to re-join the EUFOR peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the event that the mandate for that force is extended in November 2023.

James Heappey: Operation EUFOR Althea remains vital to Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) peace and security and the UK will support its mandate renewal in the UN Security Council in November. We continue to support security and stability in BiH through our contributions to NATO HQ in Sarajevo and through an extensive programme of bilateral support to the BiH Armed Forces.We will keep the UK position on re-joining EUFOR under review - this would require approval from all EU member states.

Global Combat Air Programme

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Italian and (b) Japanese counterparts on the potential entry of Saudi Arabia into the Global Combat Air Programme.

James Cartlidge: The UK has regular conversation with our trilateral Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) partners on a range of issues. All three GCAP nations have highlighted our openness to working with other nations through this programme, while keeping us on course for 2035 In Service Delivery. With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we signed a Statement of Intent on the 1 March 2023, launching a Partnering Feasibility Study to define the future of our historic Combat Air partnership.

Israel: Hamas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing air support to Israel from RAF Akrotiri in its war against Hamas.

James Heappey: RAF Akrotiri offers important basing options for the United Kingdom in the Eastern Mediterranean. We will not, however, offer comment further on operational matters.

Israel: Hamas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to support Israel in its defence against Hamas terrorism.

James Heappey: The UK and Israel have a long-standing and deep defence relationship. The Prime Minister has offered support to the Israeli Defence Forces but no decisions have yet been taken on the shape of that support.

Caribbean: Drugs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle drug smuggling in the Caribbean United Kingdom Overseas Territories.

James Heappey: A Royal Navy ship is persistently deployed to the Caribbean. In conjunction with the US, this ship conducts counter illicit trafficking operations to directly intercept drug smugglers. In addition, a Royal Naval officer provides UK liaison to the US Joint Inter Agency Task Force (South) in Florida to ensure that we collaborate to best effect with allies. The MOD also provides capacity building to the Overseas Territories, including their Defence Regiments, to build their resilience against a range of threats.

Estonia: Armed Forces

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his Estonian counterpart on increasing the number of British troops in that country as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence.

James Heappey: The Secretary of State for Defence held a bilateral meeting with the Estonian Defence Minister during NATO Defence Ministers in October, during which they discussed and agreed the UK's enduring commitment to the eFP. During this meeting the ministers also signed a Defence Cooperation Arrangement, which reaffirms the UK's previous commitments to Estonia and outlines future defence cooperation opportunities that the UK and Estonia will explore. Estonia continues to support the UK's approach to the eFP and the current Defence footprint in country.

National Cyber Force

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the delivery of the National Cyber Force at Samlesbury; and if he will make a statement.

James Heappey: The National Cyber Force (NCF) headquarters in Samlesbury is currently undergoing construction work. It will open in 2025, and the NCF is planning for several hundred staff to be based there within the first 12 months. By the 2030s this will have increased to up to two thousand people, including those from other partners, working there. We continue to prioritise the NCF workforce growth.

Estonia: Armed Forces

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces personnel are currently located in Estonia; and how many will be based in that country in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.

James Heappey: There are currently 982 UK Service personnel deployed to Estonia as part of the UK's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). A baseline deployment of around 1,000 troops is planned to be deployed in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The eFP is a rotational deployment, the precise number of personnel deployed will vary at any one time and will rise substantially during peak training periods.

Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has recorded the incursion of (a) Spanish and (b) civilian and other vessels in Gibraltarian waters in 2023 to date.

James Heappey: Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, there were 382 incursions by Spanish Government Agency vessels into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), breaching the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 19. There were no incursions into BGTW by non-Spanish Government Agency vessels in this period. Entries into BGTW by civilian or commercial vessels are not subject to UNCLOS within BGTW, and are therefore not defined as incursions.

Armed Forces: Training

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people from which countries visited the UK to take part in the (a) Advanced Command and Staff, (b) Army Officer Commissioning, (c) Royal College of Defence Studies, (d) Senior Strategic Leadership, (e) Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context, (f) Intelligence Directors and (g) Platoon Commanders Battle course in (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23.

James Heappey: The information requested for financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 can be found in the tables in the attached excel spreadsheet.Financial Years (xlsx, 20.2KB)

USA: Quantum Technology

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help increase transatlantic quantum technology cooperation.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence has a range of specific bilateral and multilateral collaborations ongoing that cover quantum technologies, including through NATO (both the US and Canada) and AUKUS Pillar Two (advanced capabilities) with the US. We also support the development of HMG wide international cooperation on quantum technologies, such as the National Quantum Strategy led by the Secretary of State for DSIT, which has included supporting the signature of a UK/US letter of intent on quantum cooperation.

Department for Education

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to question HL7130 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions, if she will publish a table of the number of employers involved in the provision of private education which have (a) partially and (b) wholly withdrawn from the Teachers' Pension Scheme in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The attached table lists the number of employers involved in the provision of private education which have (a) partially and (b) wholly withdrawn from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in each year since 2010. TPS_Table (xlsx, 23.3KB)

Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre: Buildings

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2022 to Question 45406 on Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre: Buildings, what recent progress his Department has made on preparing the former East Ham Police Station building for use by Newham Collegiate School.

Nick Gibb: The Department has entered a building contract and work began on site in March 2023. These works are scheduled to complete by September 2024, which is when the former East Ham Police Station will be handed over to the school. This will allow the school to increase its capacity to 800 students overall, from September 2024.

16 to 19 Tuition Fund and National Tutoring Programme

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the (a) National Tutoring Programme and (b) 16-19 Tuition Fund after the end of this academic year.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many young people in receipt of Pupil Premium or an equivalent will have received tutoring through the (a) National Tutoring Programme and (b) 16-19 Tuition Fund by the end of (i) this and (ii) the next academic year.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the (a) National Tutoring Programme and (b) 16-19 Tuition Fund.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) not requiring schools to contribute matching funds to and (b) other funding models for the National Tutoring Programme.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what underspends have been returned to HM Treasury in the last four years of the National Tutoring Programme; and whether she has made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the use of those funds.

Nick Gibb: The Department has made over £1 billion available through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) over the four academic years since the programme’s introduction in summer 2021, which has seen the Department deliver nearly 4 million tutoring courses as of May 2023. This has included providing £310 million directly to schools in the 2021/22 academic year and £350 million in the 2022/23 academic year. In the 2023/24 academic year, the Department will provide £150 million directly to schools.In the 2021/22 academic year, which is the most recent full year for which data is available, 47% of pupils receiving tutoring were eligible for free school meals at some point in the last six years. Final delivery figures for the 2022/23 academic year will be published in December. Figures for the current academic year will be published throughout the year.The Department has committed that, from the 2023/24 academic year, tutoring will have been embedded across schools in England. The Department expects tutoring to continue to be a staple offer from schools, with schools using their core budget, including pupil premium, to provide targeted support for those children who will benefit.Funding for the 16-19 tuition fund is currently in place until the end of the 2023/24 academic year. The Department is evaluating the Tuition Fund and considering the most appropriate way to support disadvantaged 16-19 students from the 2024/25 academic year.The NTP’s Year 2 Implementation and Process Evaluation report examined the implementation of the programme in the 2021/22 academic year. It found that most head teachers were satisfied with the programme and that the programme is perceived as having a positive impact on pupils’ attainment, self confidence and helping them catch up with their peers. It also found that most schools are prioritising pupil premium eligible pupils for tutoring. This report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-year-2-implementation-and-process-evaluation. The Department plans to publish in autumn 2023 an external quantitative impact evaluation, which explores the impact of the programme on pupil attainment in the 2021/22 academic year.For the 2020/21 to 2023/24 academic years, the Department is making available funding of up to £420 million for one to one and small group tuition for 16 to 19 year olds. The 16-19 tuition fund is targeted at students in most need, enabling schools and colleges to deliver up to 700,000 tuition sessions each year.The 16-19 tuition fund implementation and process evaluation report was published in July 2023 and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-tuition-fund-implementation-and-process-evaluation-report. This reported that over 80% of students were satisfied with the tuition they received and found its content relevant. A full report on the impact of the tuition fund will be completed later this year and published in due course.

Care Leavers: Housing

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her Department's policy that care leavers under the age of 21 who present as homeless should have their accommodation funded by the local authority responsible for social care.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with Kent County Council on its proposal to reduce the eligible age for accessing its supported accommodation service for care leavers from 21 to 19.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued recent guidance on the duties of responsible authorities to provide supported accommodation for care leavers under the age of 21.

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued recent guidance on the provision by local authorities of accommodation to care leavers beyond the age of 18.

David Johnston: Young people aged 16 or 17 who present as homeless should be supported in accordance with the following guidance, issued jointly by the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b0ed0b240f0b634b1266bc9/Provision_of_accommodation_for_16_and_17_year_olds_who_may_be_homeless.pdf.Care leavers aged over 18 do not have an automatic entitlement to be accommodated by their local authority. However, care leavers aged 18-21 are judged to have a ‘priority need’, as set out in Chapter 22 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-local-authorities/chapter-22-care-leavers. This includes categories and definitions of people who have priority need and includes young people under 21 who were looked after between the ages of 16 and 18; and people aged 21 or over who are vulnerable as a result of having been looked after, accommodated or fostered.In addition, the Children Act 1989 sets out responsibilities on local authorities to support care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independent living. This includes a requirement on local authorities to appoint a Personal Adviser to support the young person up to at least age 21, and up to age 25 if the young person requests it. The Act also includes a duty on local authorities to support care leavers to remain living with their former foster carers up to age 21 under a ‘staying put’ arrangement, if both the young person and carer want to continue living together. The department is providing £99 million to local authorities in this Spending Review period to support implementation of ‘staying put’.The department is also providing £53 million in this Spending Review period to roll-out ‘staying close’, which provides an enhanced support package for young people leaving children’s homes, and £9.6 million in this Spending Review period to support around 60 local authorities with the highest numbers of care leavers at risk of rough sleeping, as part of the cross-government rough sleeping strategy.The Department has not had discussions with Kent County Council on this issue.

Children: Exercise

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to fund the Daily Mile after 2024.

Nick Gibb: The Department is continuing to work with the Daily Mile and Sport England to support more nurseries and schools to take up the Daily Mile. Currently over 8,000 nurseries and schools in England are signed up to take part. Nearly £2 million of public funding has been committed from Sport England, between 2018 and 2024 to increase participation and build sustainable partnerships. The Department does not provide funding to the Daily Mile Foundation and there are no plans to do so.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to question HL7130 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions, if she will publish a table of the dates on which Teacher Pension Scheme contribution rates for employers involved in the provision of private education have changed since 2003 including what the new rate was after each change.

Nick Gibb: The information is readily available at: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/local-government-pensions/teachers-pension-scheme/historic-2.

Schools: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the letter from Susan Acland-Hood to the Chair of the Education Select Committee on National Funding Formula Update, published on 6 October 2023, what is the (a) scope and (b) terms of reference for the internal review into the miscalculation in the total amount of funding allocated to schools for the 2024-25 financial year; and when will the review conclude.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education has asked the Department’s Permanent Secretary to conduct a formal review of the quality assurance process surrounding the calculation of the schools National Funding Formula figures. This will provide external and independent scrutiny. Peter Wyman CBE will lead this review, and will be supported in his work by an expert panel drawn from outside the Department. The timing and terms of reference of the review have yet to be finalised, but the expectation is that it will conclude before Christmas.

Schools: Buildings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to question 199083, and with reference to the budgets used to fund emergency mitigation works for schools with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, whether that money would have been used for other Department capital projects; and if he will publish details of what those capital projects would have been.

Nick Gibb: It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.The Department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe. It will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, the Department expects all reasonable requests will be approved. The Department will then also fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects, to rectify the RAAC issue for the long term. The Department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.The Department will work with the relevant responsible body, which will depend on the type of school or college with confirmed RAAC. Every case will be different, and the Department is working closely with affected schools and colleges to understand and support their needs, including with capital funding.The Department’s immediate support will be managed from unallocated departmental budgets. This will not impact existing programmes.​The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions. The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.

Children in Care: Buildings

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings used for residential placements for looked after children, by region.

David Johnston: The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff at the heart of its policy decisions. The government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.The Local Authority run children’s homes sector in England is small with 13 secure children’s homes and 333 open children’s homes across all regions. Due to the nature of these buildings, which are typically constructed and used as residential home settings, RAAC is unlikely to be present. Of the 13 secure children’s homes in England, eight were constructed before 2000, with only one within the RAAC target era of 1950-1990. All eight of the secure children’s homes built before 2000 have been contacted by the department and have confirmed that RAAC is not present.Although Local Authorities retain responsibility and a duty of care for open children’s homes and placements in private settings, the department has written to Local Authorities to check if RAAC is present in their buildings due to the age or type of construction. The department asked Local Authorities to contact it with details of any homes where RAAC may be present. As of 16 October, no Local Authorities or open children’s homes have contacted the department confirming that RAAC is present.

Childcare: Worsley and Eccles South

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that there are an adequate number of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places to offer all eligible children access to 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year in Worsley and Eccles South constituency.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Houghton & Sunderland South constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in the area covered by the Redcar constituency by the start of September 205 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Sefton Central constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Bury South constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above access to 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start primary school.

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Bury North constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above access to 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start primary school.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Manchester Withington constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Blaydon constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primaryschool.

David Johnston: Having enough staff in place to deliver high-quality education and care will be key to ensuring the successful delivery of our record expansion of early years entitlements. Driving up interest in early years careers and ensuring there are enough opportunities for career development is a priority for this government.In the government’s Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The department is developing a range of new workforce initiatives including the launch of a new national campaign, planned for the beginning of 2024, to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment and retention of talented staff. To increase interest in early years, we are working to remove unnecessary barriers to entering the sector as well as considering how to make early years qualifications more accessible, coordinated and relevant.Over the summer the department launched a competition for Early Years Skills Bootcamps with a pathway to an accelerated level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, and we will consider degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into or indeed enhance their career in the sector. We are also working across government to boost early years career awareness by collaborating with the Department for Work and Pensions and Careers & Enterprise Company to promote the importance and value of a career in early years.Regarding safe premises, with a growing number of staff joining the sector, the safety of our youngest children remains as important as ever. All new and existing early years providers must keep children safe and promote their welfare. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170108/EYFS_framework_from_September_2023.pdf.Under these requirements, all owners and managers of childcare settings have a responsibility to ensure that their premises, including overall floor space and outdoor spaces, are fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for and the activities provided on the premises. All providers must also comply with the requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements. At all times when children are present, at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

Department for Education: Buildings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with (a) staff and (b) visitor passes have entered the Sanctuary Buildings offices of the Department for Education on more than three consecutive working days in the last six months.

Nick Gibb: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Companies: Social Media

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has received written responses from all the social media companies she met on 11 October 2023.

Michelle Donelan: The Government is continuing to work closely with social media companies to understand the policies and processes they have in place to prevent harmful and illegal content from being dispersed online, and their crisis management response. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is engaging with individual companies and will be keeping the approach under continual review.

OneWeb: Finance

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to Oneweb; and how that funding has been used.

George Freeman: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is the lead department for OneWeb and its associated policy and is responding in place of the Department for Business and Trade. HM Government made an equity investment of $500 million in OneWeb in 2020, securing a strategic investment stake and preferential UK rights to OneWeb manufacturing and supply chains on a commercial basis. This was drawn down over the period July 2020 to August 2023 to meet company cash requirements ahead of OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat. These funds supported the successful delivery of OneWeb’s first-generation constellation – completed earlier this year – and establishing provision of associated services.

Eutelsat

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology what information her Department holds on the number of shares in Eutelsat that are owned by the Chinese government.

George Freeman: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is the lead department for OneWeb and its associated policy and is responding in place of the Department for Business and Trade. According to last available data from June 2023, the Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC) held 7,561,000 shares, equivalent to c. 1.6% of Eutelsat Group’s total shares. Eutelsat Group is a publicly traded company and the number of shares held by CIC may have changed since June. The CIC has never been represented on its Board nor has it had access to any privileged information on Eutelsat or OneWeb’s operations.

Companies: Horizon Europe

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many UK companies are participating in how many projects in the Horizon Europe programme.

George Freeman: On 7th September the Prime Minister announced a new UK- EU agreement on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe from 2024. This means UK businesses and researchers can participate confidently in the world’s largest programme of research cooperation. In addition, support for businesses and researchers continues to be available via the Horizon Europe guarantee which covers all remaining Horizon grant calls up to and including work programme 2023. As of 30 September 2023, the Guarantee has issued 2,654 Grants worth £1.395 billion. Further detail on UK participation can be found at UKRI’s Gateway to research website.

UK Research and Innovation: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what funds UK Research and Innovation committed to (a) researchers under the Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme and (b) other Horizon Europe aspects of the UK research system in (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23 and (iii) 2023-24; whether her Department provided financial support to UK Research and Innovation for such funds in each such year; and whether there have been changes to the budget of UK Research and Innovation since the publication of its Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023.

George Freeman: The government’s priority is to ensure the UK’s R&D sector gets the right support to allow them to continue their ground-breaking research and international collaboration. UKRI has to date issued grant offer letters totalling approximately £1.36bn through the Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme with further funds to be committed throughout 2023-24. UKRI has delivered further support across the Horizon programme, including elements of targeted investments to support UK research, as announced by the Government in November 2022, - with spend underpinned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. UKRI’s budget remains as published in our Annual Report and Accounts for 2022-23.

Horizon Europe

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure UK applicants are eligible for the November 2023 Horizon Europe call relating to the Copernicus Security Service.

George Freeman: We are confident that we will be able to use the Horizon Europe programme to collaborate on areas of shared interest. The UK-EU joint statement of 7 September 2023 includes the EU’s commitment to assess UK participants’ access to strategic parts of the Horizon Europe programme on equal terms with other associated countries. Since the negotiated outcome, my officials have prioritised engagement with the EU at a technical level on the nature of our access to these areas, including space. Existing provisions in the TCA provide additional safeguards to ensure that if the UK is excluded from parts of Horizon Europe, it will not have to pay contributions for that part of the programme.

National Space Council

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many times the National Space Council met before it was disbanded; and how many times it has met since it was re-established.

George Freeman: The National Space Council was first formed as a Cabinet Committee in June 2020 to oversee Government policy on Space. Since 2023, it has operated as an inter-ministerial group, tasked with considering all issues relating to prosperity, diplomacy and national security in, through and from Space, as part of coordinating overall Government policy. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly and we therefore will not comment on the National Space Council prior to 2023. We can confirm that the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council as an inter-ministerial group took place on 19 July 2023. Further meetings are planned for 2023 and beyond.

Business: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the methodologies of data collection used by the Office for National Statistics for its Business enterprise research and development, UK release; and whether that Office is taking steps to provide greater granularity in its next such release.

George Freeman: The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology continues to engage with the Office for National Statistics(ONS) on the development of the business enterprise research and development statistics, as they update and improve their data collection methodologies. The Office for National Statistics is an independent body, and this update is part of a wider programme of work to improve economic statistics and data capture.In 2023 the Office for National Statistics increased the number of businesses sampled 10-fold, increasing from around 4,000 to around 40,000. This should increase the level of confidence around the granular breakdowns of business enterprise expenditure on research and development and enable the ONS to consider re-instating the level of granularity published in the next release.

Arts

Sir Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what her Department's expected timescale is for publishing the list of the six new Creative Industries Clusters.

George Freeman: The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), on behalf of UK Research Innovation (UKRI), has committed to delivering at least £50m of funding for Creative Industries Clusters as signalled in the Creative Sector Vision. The first wave of the programme supported clusters in the South West, Yorkshire, and the South East in England, two clusters in Scotland, one in south Wales and one in Northern Ireland. AHRC is committed to ensuring that this second wave of funding for Clusters reaches new sub-sectors and new geographies across the UK. Further details will be published in this financial year.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Chagossian communities (a) in the UK and (b) elsewhere on proposals relating to the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: We recognise the sovereignty negotiations are an important issue for many Chagossians and we are updating Chagossian communities both in the UK and elsewhere as they progress, most recently earlier this month.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Marine Protected Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Mauritian counterpart on the British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Islands) Marine Protected Area.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary's most recent discussion with the Mauritian Foreign Minister was in March 2023 and covered a range of bilateral issues.

British Council: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the British Council spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much FCDO Services spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Great Britain-China Centre spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Independent Commission for Aid Impact spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Westminster Foundation for Democracy spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Wilton Park spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

David Rutley: The table below sets out the indicative amount spent by each of the specified Arms Length Bodies (ALB) on equality and diversity training in 2022-23.ALBAmount (£)British Council3,674Commonwealth Scholarships Commission3,579FCDO Services836Great Britain-China Centre750Independent Commission for Aid Impact0Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission396Westminster Foundation for Democracy2,000Wilton Park505

St Helena: Aviation

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with airlines on the potential merits of direct flights between the UK and Saint Helena.

David Rutley: The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with airlines on the merits of direct flights to St Helena. Discussions on air services are led by the St Helena Government. A weekly air service currently operates from South Africa to St Helena and will increase to twice weekly in the forthcoming peak tourism season. St Helena has an "open skies" policy and there is no limit on the St Helena Government's ability to procure additional air services.The UK Government has regular discussions with St Helena Government on maximising the benefits of St Helena Airport.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart to help ensure that no Afghans in refugee camps in that country eligible for (a) the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, (b) the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme and (c) other UK schemes, are deported back to Afghanistan.

Leo Docherty: We are not aware of any eligible individuals under either the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) or ACRS (Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme) Pathway 3 schemes in refugee camps in Pakistan. Other schemes are for the Home Office to answer. We are monitoring the situation closely and the British High Commission is in frequent contact with the Pakistani authorities to try and ensure that no ARAP or ACRS Pathway 3 eligible individuals are deported while they await relocation to the UK and are seeking assurances to this effect.

Middle East: Violence

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate on Escalation of violence in the Middle-East following the recent Hamas attack on Israel, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2023.

David Rutley: We echo the sentiments of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in wishing strength to all those who have become victims of the enormous tragedy in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We express our steadfast and united support to Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism. Hamas does not speak for or act in the interests of the Palestinian people. Israel has the absolute right to defend itself and its military operations must be conducted in strict accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Civilians must be respected and protected at all times. The Prime Minister has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on 12 October. He reiterated the need to ensure the protection of innocent civilians and underlined the importance of safe humanitarian access to Gaza.The UK Government has authorised the sending of a significant support package to the region, UK military assets will support regional stability and prevent escalation. On the 16 October, the Prime Minister announced a further £10 million in humanitarian funding for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), in response to the escalating conflict. We will continue to work with our regional partners so that essential aid can reach civilian populations in Gaza including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

France: Council of Europe

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate on the report entitled The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by France, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 10 October 2023.

Leo Docherty: We greatly value the work of the UK delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and welcome this debate, following the monitoring committee's report. The UK welcomes the French initiative to assess and reform the legal and judicial systems within France. The UK and France will continue to work closely together at the Council of Europe.

Montenegro: Elections

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate on the report entitled Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Montenegro, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 9 October 2023.

Leo Docherty: The UK welcomes the Council of Europe (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly's 9 October debate on the observation of the early parliamentary elections in Montenegro. The UK understands the importance of election monitoring. We supported a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to provide early projections of election results, as part of a package of CSSF-funded projects to strengthen election integrity against destabilising influences. We now look forward to government formation and furthering our support for Montenegro to conduct free and fair democratic processes and to strengthen electoral practices in line with Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and CoE recommendations.

Bahrain: Political Prisoners

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the press release by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy entitled Bahrain convicts 13 political prisoners in a mass trial amid credible torture allegations, published on 28 September 2023, whether his Department holds information on alleged use of (a) mass trials and (b) torture in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The FCDO is aware of reporting about the court proceedings referenced in the press release. We have previously been assured in other cases (where individuals linked to one charge are tried together) that an individual's right to separate legal representation of their choice is guaranteed by law. We continue to encourage allegations of torture or mistreatment to be reported to the appropriate national oversight body whose duty it is to carry out full and independent investigations into such claims.

Radicalism

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate on the report entitled The challenge of far-right ideology to democracy and human rights in Europe, which was held at Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 10 October 2023.

Leo Docherty: The UK welcomed the debate on far-right ideology and human rights within Europe. We put open societies and the protection of human rights around the world at the heart of what we do. Ideologies aiming to undermine human rights, democracy and rule of law are in direct opposition of our core values.The UK takes the challenge of far-right ideology seriously. Our counter terrorism strategy CONTEST is threat agnostic, and applicable and effective in tackling Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism. We continue to work with our partners to defend democracy and freedom globally and hold those who violate human rights to account.

Libya: Floods

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his international counterparts at COP28 on (a) the environmental impact of flooding in Derna in September 2023 and (b) mitigation measures to help prevent future disasters.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is committed to supporting the people of Libya following the devastating floods. The Foreign Secretary allocated £10 million in response to environmental disasters in both Libya and Morocco, providing life-saving assistance to those affected. Additionally, the UK is providing £5 million to the UK Met Office to improve early warning systems for extreme weather events and £5 million to the International Water Management Institute to improve flood management in the region. The UK is working closely with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) COP28 presidency to press for additional funding for vulnerable communities and is co-hosting the Climate and Development Ministerial, which will focus on how to improve access to climate finance for those countries most affected by climate change.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will increase funding for water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure in healthcare facilities to contain antimicrobial resistance.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Statistics on International Development publication confirmed that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £46 million in 2022. Multilateral spend on WASH was £63 million in 2021. At this stage we are unable to confirm FCDO's future allocations to WASH.

Dams: Safety

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its polices of a report by the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health in January 2021 on dams at risk due to aging; and whether he has had discussions with international counterparts on estimating the costs of strengthening the resilience of large water storage dams and mitigating the risks of flooding posed by aging water infrastructure.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK recognises the value of water storage for many purposes; the importance of its operation, maintenance and safety inspection and the need to address aging infrastructure - the report from the UN University is welcome. Our approach to water infrastructure is within our water security policy which we have discussed with international counterparts at, for example, World Water Week and we maintain close relationships with partner countries and international organisations monitoring critical infrastructure for example on seismic safety of large dams. We expect and encourage our partners to adopt a full life cycle approach to infrastructure including maintenance, consideration of aging and, where appropriate, decommissioning. Strengthening resilience of infrastructure itself and supporting infrastructure for resilient communities and economies are priorities. We note the recommendations of the report and will discuss them further with stakeholders.

Development Aid: Natural Disasters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to use aid funding to prevent natural disasters causing loss of life and infrastructure.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has a strong record in disaster response and preparedness and is committed to transforming how we anticipate and prevent crises, including though our support for the global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. In the Caribbean, we provide grant finance for resilient infrastructure, as well as backing a new insurance scheme to protect critical water and sanitation infrastructure. We work closely with partners on developing and advocating for better Early Warning Systems to protect communities at risk, as well as providing technical and financial support to strengthen meteorological services, regional climate centres and risk assessment in Africa and Asia.

Azerbaijan: Crimes against Humanity

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Azerbaijan’s compliance with international law on prevention of atrocity crimes.

Leo Docherty: The UK believes that those who commit atrocities in armed conflicts need to be held accountable. We call on states and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and to act in accordance with their obligations under it. In the case of Azerbaijani military action in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, the UK was vocal in calling for an end to the conflict, the protection of civilians and for immediate humanitarian access. The UN and other international actors have subsequently been granted access to the region.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: CK Group

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have met representatives from CK Group since 2019.

David Rutley: The FCDO does not centrally hold any record of Ministers or officials meeting representatives from CK Group since 2019.

Armed Conflict: Food Supply

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help ensure that civilians in conflict zones can access food and (b) stabilise global food supply chains.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In 2022, the UK provided £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid, including food aid to communities affected by conflict and other crises.The UK is working with other UN Security Council members to improve reporting on conflict-induced food insecurity and increase accountability for the use of starvation as a weapon of war. We are supporting the development of a legal handbook on Conflict, Hunger and International Humanitarian Law.Our development and diplomatic efforts to deliver sustainable food security solutions, as illustrated in the International Development Strategy and Integrated Review Refresh, continue to contribute to global food systems and supply chain stability.

Development Aid: Genito-urinary Medicine

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181199 on Development Aid: Genito-urinary Medicine, if he will publish updated data on (a) bilateral aid in 2022 and (b) multilateral aid in 2021 for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Based on FCDO "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2022", and the Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) spend methodology laid out in the Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) led "Donor Delivering for SRHR" 2023 report:a/ The total amount of UK ODA Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) funding disbursed by bilateral aid was £297 million in 2022.b/ The total amount of UK ODA SRHR funding disbursed by core multilateral aid was £279 million in 2021.Please note the answer given to question 181199 was based on the methodology laid out in the "Donor Delivering for SRHR" 2022 report. The SRHR attribution coefficients have been revised in the 2023 methodology following DSW extensive consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders. Thus, the estimates provided above are not comparable.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to (a) reassess his Department's funding allocation for overseas aid and (b) prioritise spending on the improvement of (i) water, (ii) sanitation and (iii) hygiene infrastructure in healthcare facilities to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK remains committed to supporting access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), including in healthcare facilities. The UK-funded Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition supported 14,800 facilities with WASH supplies and trained 460,000 health workers on hygiene improvements. We also help rally international attention on antimicrobial resistance through the global taskforce on WASH in Healthcare Facilities, working with World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. The Statistics on International Development publication confirmed that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £46 million in 2022. Multilateral spend on WASH was £63 million in 2021. At this stage we are unable to confirm FCDO's future allocations to overseas aid or WASH specifically. The FCDO works closely with the Treasury on our aid budget.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to help ensure that older people are included in commitments made at the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on universal health coverage.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to championing universal health coverage (UHC). We worked with other countries to ensure that the 2023 High-Level Meeting's Political Declaration on UHC reaffirmed the 2019 commitment to promote healthy and active ageing and to respond to the needs of ageing populations. We also went further, recognising the importance of providing sustainable home and community care services for older people. Following the High-Level Meeting, the UK will continue to work with partners on integrated and equitable approaches to and achieving UHC that meets the needs of people of all ages.

Transcaucasus: Roads

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the situation in the Lachin Corridor in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on (a) UK imports of oil from and (b) commercial relations with oil suppliers in Azerbaijan.

Leo Docherty: The UK recognises Azerbaijan's role as a reliable energy partner that plays an important role in the global energy landscape. However, energy is only part of our overall relationship with Azerbaijan, and it is those broad ties which enable us to have wide-reaching conversations with senior representatives of the Azerbaijani Government on a range of themes, including the unfolding situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno Karabakh: Armed Conflict

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help mitigate the risk of atrocity crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces and military activity by Azerbaijani forces in that region.

Leo Docherty: The UK believes that those who commit atrocities in armed conflicts need to be held accountable. We call on states and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and to act in accordance with their obligations under it. In the case of Azerbaijani military action in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, the UK was vocal in calling for an end to the conflict, the protection of civilians and for immediate humanitarian access. The UN and other international actors have subsequently been granted access to the region.

Home Office

Malik Riaz Hussain

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Crime Agency has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the settlement it reached with Malik Riaz Hussain in 2019.

Tom Tugendhat: The National Crime Agency conducted a review of the process for settling civil recovery claims in 2020.

Terrorism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the threat level from international terrorism of the UK's support for Israel in its war with Hamas.

Tom Tugendhat: The national threat level is subject to continuous review and assessment. Considerations have and continue to be made in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.The threat level remains at Substantial and will continue to be reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the threat of a terrorist attack in the UK.

Refugees: Afghanistan

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of the Minister for Veterans Affairs in the debate on Resettlement of Afghans on 19 September 2023, Official Report, column 1253, how many and what proportion of the Afghans housed in hotel accommodation in March 2023 were given at least one offer of permanent accommodation before 31 August 2023.

Robert Jenrick: There is no published breakdown of the number of individuals who received a property offer during the stated period.We gave Afghans living in hotels and serviced apartments three months’ notice in which they would need to leave their bridging accommodation - and stepped up our support to help them find settled accommodation. This was backed by £285m of new funding for councils which included a flexible housing fund worth £7,100 per person which many LAs used as rent top ups to enable this cohort to access private rented sector properties. The UK Government has granted all Afghans relocated through safe and legal routes with Indefinite Leave to Remain, including the immediate right to work, alongside access to the benefits system and vital health, education, and employment support.Transparency data has recently been released (published on 19 September 2023), following the end of bridging accommodation use. This provides a helpful overview of the best available operational data as of 31 August 2023, and can be viewed at: Afghan bridging hotel exit operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This publication confirms that there were over 8,000 Afghans living in bridging accommodation on 28 March, when the plan to end Bridging accommodation was announced. It also shows that overall, 10,404 people have been housed by a local authorities since June 2021.

Hamas

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the police investigate individuals and groups suspected of promoting Hamas in the UK.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government takes proscription offences seriously. Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations or individuals who may be members of proscribed organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies.Following the terrorist attacks on Israel, the Home Secretary wrote to police chiefs in England and Wales urging them to step up patrols and use the full force of the law to tackle those inciting hatred towards our Jewish communities.The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister have hosted a roundtable with police chiefs and the Community Security Trust (CST) to discuss the practical steps that can be taken to enhance the operational response to any potential disorder.Public order policing has disseminated briefing materials to police forces covering hate crime and the proscription offences, including advice on the flags associated with proscribed organisations Hamas and Hizballah.

Faith Schools: Security

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase security measures around Jewish schools.

Tom Tugendhat: The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant provides protective security measures (such as guarding, CCTV and alarm systems) at Jewish schools and other Jewish community sites. The Grant is managed on behalf of the Home Office by the Community Security Trust. In March 2023, the Home Secretary announced the continuation of the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, and increased funding for 2023/24 by £1 million, to a total of £15 million.In light of the Hamas terrorist acts in Israel and reports of increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, the Prime Minister has announced additional funding of £3 million for the Community Security Trust to provide additional security guarding at Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites where there may be a risk of antisemitic attacks.In addition to the provision for Jewish schools, we also provide support for Muslim Faith schools. In June 2023, the Security Minister confirmed that an additional £24.5 million of funding will be available in 2023/24 to provide protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools.

Economic Crime

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the announcement on ending civil service expansion by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 2 October 2023, whether the cap on the civil service headcount will affect the recruitment of the (a) 400 fraud investigators announced in the Fraud Strategy 2023 and (b) 475 full-time equivalent staff for tackling money laundering and asset recovery announced in the Economic Crime Plan 2023-26.

Tom Tugendhat: Through the Spending Review and the new Economic Crime Levy we are providing additional funding to tackle Economic Crime of £400 million up to the end of 2024/25. The headcount cap announced by the Chancellor applies to the overall size of the Civil Service, excluding the devolved administrations. Policing, including Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) who are a major recipient of additional Economic Crime investment, are out of scope.As part of the process, the Government will identify risks, and ensure this is implemented in a way which preserves frontline service delivery, business critical activity and key Government priorities. This is not a recruitment freeze, but rather about stopping unchecked growth overall and moving towards a leaner and more efficient Civil Service workforce.

Asylum: West Midlands

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are housed in (a) Sandwell and (b) each of the other local authorities in the West Midlands as of 13 October 2023.

Robert Jenrick: Published statistics of where asylum seekers are accommodated can be viewed under the Local Authority Dataset Asy-D11 at:Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

UK Border Force: Staff

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many members of staff were employed by Border Force UK in each year since 2010.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office would refer you to the previous response to PQ 201533.

Knives: Crime

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the types of (a) knives and (b) other sharp instruments that have been used in (i) homicides and (ii) other offences involving those instruments in the latest period for which data is available.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of (a) homicides and (b) other offences involved the use of a ninja sword in the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office Homicide Index holds detailed data on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on the type of sharp instrument used in a homicide was added to the collection in April 2022. These data, for the year ending March 2023, are due to be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in February 2024.The Home Office does not routinely collect information on the types of knives or sharp instruments used in other offences.The year ending June 2023 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) published by the ONS shows that violent incidents have fallen by 52% since the year ending March 2010.

Sayed Alwadaei

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei was temporarily detained at the UK border on 29 September 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office would not routinely comment on individual cases.

Vetting

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Disclosure and Barring Service over the time taken to process an enhanced check; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources available to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Miss Sarah Dines: As the Minister for Safeguarding, I meet with the Chairman of the Disclosure and Barring Service to discuss performance. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has a service standard to issue 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days. Its performance remains consistently strong against this service standard as can be seen for the 2022-23 reporting year and first quarter of 2023-24 DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). To summarise performance, the attainment over the 2022/23 reporting year was 78.4%, with over 3.5 million customers receiving their Enhanced DBS check results within 14 days. The average turnaround time over the past year was 10.7 days, and 80% of all enhanced Disclosures were issued by day 16 against the 14-day target.

Drugs: Organised Crime

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of when the targeted stakeholder engagement exercise on the proposed offence of cuckooing will conclude.

Chris Philp: The exploitation and degradation that is associated with the pernicious practice of cuckooing is wholly unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle it.Cuckooing is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, building on our successful County Lines Programme, launched in November 2019.In March 2023, as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour action plan, we announced that we would be engaging with stakeholders on the scope of a potential new criminal offence.The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise has revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and Home Office officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.

Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) contributions to, (b) analysis of and (c) the government response to her Department’s consultation on Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government intends to bring forward proposals and engage with stakeholders this year on transparency of information and the protection of confidential information regarding the regulation of the use of animals in science.In doing so, the Government intends to clarify section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, taking account of the previous consultation.

Cabinet Office

Three: Vodafone Group

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Investment Security Unit has received representations from Vodafone UK in relation to its proposed merger with Three.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Investment Security Unit is currently assessing the national security implications of the proposed merger between Vodafone UK and Three.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Deputy Prime Minister, as Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office, takes decisions under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in a quasi-judicial capacity. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment on individual cases, given commercial and national security sensitivities.The Investment Security Unit coordinates expertise from across Government as part of this process.

Cabinet Office: Senior Civil Servants

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants at the level of director general are employed by his Department as of 16 October 2023.

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants from other Departments are working in his Department as of 16 October 2023.

Mr Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants at the director general level from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office as of 16 October 2023.

Jeremy Quin: 20 civil servants are working in the Department at the level of director general who are employed by the Cabinet Office as of 30 September 2023. As of the same date the number of civil servants at the director general level from other Departments working in the Cabinet Office is less than 5 so we are unable to answer this as it would disclose personal data of the civil servants involved. 321 civil servants from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office and on Cabinet Office payroll, on a Loan or Secondment as of 30 September 2023.

Cabinet Manual

Julian Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an update to the Cabinet Manual in the context of the repeal of the Fixed Term Parliament Act.

Alex Burghart: In February 2022, the Government confirmed that it intends to publish an updated version of the Cabinet Manual before the end of this Parliament. This will reflect developments since the publication of the previous version in 2011, including the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Nuclear Power

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to support the development of (a) advanced nuclear technology and (b) routes to market for that technology.

Andrew Bowie: In 2020, the Government committed up to £385m to an Advanced Nuclear Fund to provide funding for a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design and to progress plans for an Advanced Modular Reactor demonstration by the early 2030s. In July 2023, the Government shortlisted potential grants from the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund, releasing up to £77.1m of targeted support for new nuclear development. Great British Nuclear, the arms-length body responsible for helping to deliver new nuclear projects, has launched a Technology Selection Process (TSP) to select the SMR technologies best able to deliver projects by the mid-2030s. Six companies have been down-selected for the next stage of the process. The Government is also consulting in the autumn on alternative routes to markets for new nuclear projects, in addition to the TSP.

Uranium

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps to support the (a) development and (b) use of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium.

Andrew Bowie: The UK is a world leader in the nuclear fuel cycle, and this is testament to the highly skilled workforce currently employed within the UK supply chain. The Government recognises the importance of establishing a secure, commercial supply of High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) to support future reactors and deliver our net zero and energy security ambitions. As such, we have launched the Nuclear Fuel Fund (NFF) to be used to alongside private sector co-investment, to preserve and develop the UK’s nuclear fuel production capability. Through the NFF, the Government is proud to have invested £10.5m towards the development and use of a supply chain for HALEU in the UK. The Government is considering any further steps that might be necessary to support the development of HALEU fuel.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to introduce the Alternative Fuel Payments scheme this winter to support consumers not connected to the gas grid who rely on alternative fuels to heat their homes.

Amanda Solloway: Oil prices have fallen from their 2022 peak and there are currently no plans for the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme to be renewed for Winter 2023/24. However, the Government will continue to monitor the situation and will keep our options under review.

Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what role (a) regional job creation and (b) investment growth play in decisions relating to the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme assessment.

Graham Stuart: Value for money assessments for all applications will consider the wider economic benefits of applications including job creation, upskilling and wider regional investment.

Renewable Energy

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to reopen applications for the Contracts for Difference scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Contracts for Difference scheme now runs on an annual basis. The Government has confirmed that the sixth allocation round will open, as scheduled, in March 2024.

Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will take steps to decouple the price of gas and electricity.

Graham Stuart: As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to shield consumers from the impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and to ensure they benefit from lower-cost renewables. The Contracts for Difference scheme already insulates consumers against electricity price spikes. Over time, this scheme will significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuelled power generation, lowering consumer exposure to gas prices.

Energy: Social Tariffs

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181721 on Energy: Prices, what progress her Department has made on introducing a consultation on social tariffs for energy.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 180105 on Energy: Prices, whether he plans to launch a consultation on an energy social tariff by 31 December 2023.

Amanda Solloway: As set out in the 2022 autumn statement, the Government is exploring the best approach to consumer protection, as part of wider retail market reforms. The Government continues to monitor the situation and will keep options under review.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bottles: Deposit Return Schemes

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether glass bottles will be included in her Department's proposed Deposit Return Scheme.

Rebecca Pow: Glass drinks bottles will not be captured by the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland. The scheme will include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, steel and aluminium cans. Instead, glass drinks bottles will be within the scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (EPR) alongside other types of glass packaging. EPR will place recycling targets on producers in relation to glass packaging and require relevant obligated producers to cover the costs of collecting and managing glass packaging arising in household waste and discarded in street bins managed by local authorities.

Bottles: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason a refillable glass bottle scheme was not included in her Department’s Waste Prevention Programme for England published July 2023.

Rebecca Pow: We want to encourage a shift away from hard to recycle and single-use products and packaging, and support research and innovation into more sustainable alternatives and systems, reducing litter and plastic pollution as well as conserving material resources.The introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, as part of the Collection and Packaging reforms, will move the full cost of dealing with packaging waste generated by households from local taxpayers and councils to businesses that handle and use packaging (applying the ‘polluter-pays principle’). This will encourage businesses to think carefully about how much packaging they use, and to design and use packaging that is easily recyclable. It will also encourage use of refillable and reusable packaging.Refill systems will have a significant role to play in driving down unnecessary waste, and we are working to identify measures that could be used to encourage greater use of refillable and reuseable packaging. We remain committed to introducing refill/reuse obligations and will bring forward our proposals with the intention of introducing these in 2025.

Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will report annually on recycling and recovery targets for England; and when she plans to publish the next such progress report.

Rebecca Pow: We shortly will be updating our local authority collected and managed waste statistical notice, which is published annually; this presents recycling rates for England and local authorities. We will also be updating our UK Statistics on Waste statistical notice, which is published annually, in May/June 2024 (provisional date) which also presents data on recycling rates, biodegradable municipal waste to landfill, commercial and industrial waste arising, and a recovery rate for construction and demolition waste for England and the UK.

Waste Disposal

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate her Department has made of the annual mass of residual waste per head of population in England (a) sent to landfill, (b) put through incineration, and (c) used in energy recovery (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas.

Rebecca Pow: We do not publish data relating to the mass of residual waste on a per head of population basis. However, as part of our ‘Local authority collected waste management - annual results’ we do publish data on ‘residual household waste per household’, on a kilogram per household figure and ‘waste from household’ on a kilogram per person figure: (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables-202122). Furthermore, in the Output Indicator framework for the 25 year Environment Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan-progress-reports), the J4 Indicator presents total tonnages of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) sent to landfill and put through incineration.

Food: Labelling

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on food products.

Mark Spencer: Stimulating market demand for higher welfare products is a key strand of the Government’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. We therefore ran a call for evidence in 2021 to gather data on the impacts of different types of animal welfare labelling reforms, which received over 1,600 responses. The evidence provided suggested that there is public appetite for improved welfare labelling. We will continue working with key stakeholders to explore how we can harness the market to improve food information for consumers and raise animal welfare standards. As part of this, we will continue to gather evidence on the impacts of a wide range of market interventions, as well as how they would align with wider labelling proposals such as eco-labelling.

Pesticides: Neonicotinoids

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of the implications for her policies of the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) environmental and (b) ecological effects of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what account her Department took when authorising the use of the neonicotinoid Cruiser SB in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 of research on the effects of neonicotinoids on (i) bees and (ii) other pollinators.

Mark Spencer: The EU withdrew approval for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators, in December 2018. The UK supported this move, and this has not changed. The restrictions on neonicotinoids were justified by the growing weight of scientific evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinators. This restriction remains in place. In considering the applications for use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet in 2021 and 2022, a range of evidence was considered on the impacts of the proposed use of the product on people, pollinators, and the environment. Information on these decisions can be found here.

Japanese Knotweed: Weed Control

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle Japanese knotweed.

Mark Spencer: The Government recognises the threats posed by invasive species, including Japanese knotweed, and has a comprehensive Great Britain Non-native Species Strategy designed to co-ordinate action to tackle these threats.  Defra funds biocontrol research to tackle Japanese knotweed. It is hoped that this will provide a cost and time effective way of managing this species. This research has identified the psyllid Aphalari itadori, (a sap-sucking insect), as a biological control agent for tackling Japanese Knotweed. Information about the research can be found on the Japanese Knotweed Alliance website. Local Action Groups, with support from Government, are actively involved in reducing and eradicating Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to allow the plant to escape or cause it to grow in the wild. The Government has developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed and other harmful weeds, as well as how to treat and dispose of them, which can be found on GOV.UK:How to stop invasive non-native plants from spreading - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Government also run awareness raising campaigns such as ‘Be Plant Wise’ and Invasive Species Week, as well as providing species information and online training materials on biosecurity on the GB NNSS website.

Clean Air Zones: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of clean air zones in Portsmouth on levels of air pollution in that city.

Trudy Harrison: Portsmouth’s Class B Clean Air Zone has been operational since November 2021. Air quality data for 2022 was published in September 2023 as part of the 2022 National Compliance Assessment: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/.

Clean Air Zones: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of clean air zones in Portsmouth on health outcomes for local people.

Trudy Harrison: Government has a robust evaluation programme for the collection and analysis of air quality, traffic and behavioural data from Local Authority areas implementing measures for the reduction of nitrogen dioxide. The programme and collection of data is at too early a stage to draw definitive conclusions about the impact of Clean Air Zones on health. The findings of the evaluation programme for Portsmouth are expected to be published in the next evaluation Annual Report. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP), an expert committee of the Department of Health and Social Care, estimated that long-term exposure to man-made pollution in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 28,000 to 43,000 deaths. The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities has also estimated the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution at local authority level in the Public Health Outcomes Framework, available to view and search online at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework.

Clean Air Zones: Portsmouth International Port

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the clean air zone to Portsmouth’s port.

Trudy Harrison: The Department has not made an assessment of any changes to Portsmouth’s Clean Air Zone.

Cats: Animal Breeding

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of over-breeding on (a) cats and (b) their kittens.

Trudy Harrison: In light of concerns raised by stakeholders during the post-implementation review of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, the department has commissioned an opinion from the Animal Welfare Committee on the welfare implications of feline breeding practices.

Special Protection Areas: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2023 to Question 185629 on Marine Protected Areas: Northern Ireland, what her Department's planned timetable is, in partnership with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland, to establish marine Special Protection Areas in East Coast and Carlingford Lough.

Trudy Harrison: The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland is currently working through some remaining issues with these sites, so there is currently no planned timetable for their classification.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Wildlife

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect (a) fish and (b) other wildlife from being (i) injured and (ii) killed in the waterways surrounding Hinkley Point C.

Rebecca Pow: Defra relies on its Arms-Length Bodies to advise on the impact of major infrastructure projects such as Hinkley C. Mitigations for potential harms to fish and wildlife are agreed as part of the Development Consent Order process. In line with this, potential impacts upon fish species and other wildlife in the surrounding waterways were assessed prior to the power station being granted a Development Consent Order and associated Environmental Permits. Mitigations agreed include the management and monitoring of impacts associated with noise, visual and light disturbance to wildlife; entrapment of fish from the cooling water system; and water discharge activity.

Shellfish: Sales

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to end the sale of live decapod crustaceans.

Mark Spencer: We are working closely with stakeholders to gather information and build a clear evidence base on decapod crustacean welfare, in order to understand what opportunities exist to improve welfare standards. There are currently no plans to bring forward additional legislation in this area.

Boats: Elmbridge

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of the Environment Agency (a) relocating and (b) removing the 116 alleged unregistered vessels moored on Environment Agency-owned land in Elmbridge Borough on 30 July 2023 using powers under Article 16 of the Environment Agency (Inland Waterways) Order 2010.

Rebecca Pow: During the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 there were significant periods of time during lockdown when the Environment Agency eased mooring restrictions and we were not enforcing. The Environment Agency was successful in an enforcement matter in 2019 for a boat owner overstaying on their moorings and had costs awarded for their costs of £20k Kingston boater fined for illegal moorings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Environment Agency have been told there are allegedly 116 unregistered boats moored to their land in Elmbridge but cannot confirm the details of that data. The matter of the use of Article16 of the Inland Waterways Order 2010 has been subject to public consultation on its use. Until the consultation has been reviewed and a response has been published the Environment Agency has not concluded on how the use of Article 16 will be enforced across the country.

Boats: Elmbridge

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much from the public purse the Environment Agency has spent on enforcement against illegal river moorings in Elmbridge Borough in each of the last five years.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency cannot quantify our cost of enforcement of illegal moorings in Elmbridge as the work is river wide. In 2022 the Environment Agency carried out a project to remove wrecks and abandoned boats, but not limited to the River Thames in Elmbridge, at a cost of £280K for the removal and disposal of 41 wrecks. Each and every vessel, if removed from the River Thames will have its own cost for removal.

Question

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support agricultural export businesses in Essex.

Mark Spencer: In May, the Prime Minister announced a programme of support for UK agricultural exporters including: expansion of our agri-food and drink attaché network who tackle global barriers to exports,an expanded programme of trade missions, support for seafood and dairy exporters, andsupport to showcase the best of UK produce.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on rolling out the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 in (a) North Northamptonshire and (b) England.

Mark Spencer: We are rolling out the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 in a controlled way, making sure we offer everyone the right level of support. We invited Basic Payment Scheme eligible farmers to register interest for SFI2023 with the Rural Payments Agency from 30 August 2023. Over 14,000 farmers have done so, representing one in six. This process is already being simplified, with the majority of farmers no longer needing to registrations of interest as of this week. We started to accept applications from 18 September. I am pleased to confirm the first payments were made yesterday.

Food: Recycling

Mark Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Environment Act 2021 on the level of food recycling by local councils.

Rebecca Pow: Simpler Recycling will significantly increase the tonnage of household and business municipal food waste collected for recycling or composting in England, contributing towards Net Zero. The impact assessment accompanying our 2021 consultation estimated that over two metric tonnes of additional food waste per annum would be separately collected by 2030 under our central scenario for these reforms. These figures are being revised for our Final Impact Assessment on Simpler Recycling which will be published in due course.

Farmers: Rural Areas

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support rural farmers.

Mark Spencer: We are backing British farmers with £3.7bn of investment per year, including £620m per year for Scotland. This is ringfenced UK Government funding for farming to support profitable and sustainable food production and environmental and animal welfare outcomes.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Women

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of officials in his Department that are (a) graded as senior civil servant 2 and (b) on full-time equivalent contracts are women.

David T C Davies: My Department has one official graded at SCS 2, who is male.

Wales Office: Women

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of officials in his Department on temporary contracts are women.

David T C Davies: My Department has eleven staff members on temporary contracts, five (45%) of whom are women.

Ministry of Justice

Damian Hinds and Admir Abrija

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Ministry of Justice data: gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings January 2023 to March 2023, published July 2023, what the (a) agenda, (b) attendance and (c) outcomes were of the meeting between the Rt hon. Member for East Hampshire and the Albanian Prison Director on 21 March 2023.

Damian Hinds: A new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania came into force in May 2022. A meeting between the Director General for prisons and Minister Hinds took place on 21 March 2023 where they discussed the Prisoner Transfer Agreement between the UK and Albania and Albania’s plans to reform their prison system. In May 2023, we announced a complementary arrangement whereby the UK Government has agreed to provide support to modernise and expand the Albanian prison system and in return Albania has agreed to accept the return of up to 200 Albanian Nationals currently serving sentences of 4 years or more in the UK. The Home Office simultaneously announced over £4m in funding for capacity building and prison reform in Albania, including investment in security equipment, vehicles, and technical assistance.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times a police cell was used to house an inmate as part of Operation Safeguard in each of the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: Operation Safeguard is a contingency measure that provides additional headroom for use if prisoners cannot be accepted from the courts or police custody. It is a temporary measure to provide a short-term solution when there are capacity problems in particular areas and should not be regarded as extra prison capacity. When Operation Safeguard is active, tactical and operational governance reviews take place at regular intervals, as agreed with police partners.The information requested is provided in the table below:MonthCell usageAverage per night2022  Oct--Nov--Dec--2023  Jan- Feb1294.6Mar34411.0Apr110.37May36311.7Jun1193.97Jul1534.94Aug672.16Sep862.86

Wandsworth Prison: CCTV

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the document entitled Annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Wandsworth for reporting year 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2022, published in September 2022, when work on the CCTV upgrades at HMP Wandsworth began; and what his timetable is for completion of the work.

Damian Hinds: We are committed to completing substantial and wide-ranging security improvements to HMP Wandsworth. This includes improvements which will deliver a modern, updated, Closed-Circuit Television System and a Perimeter Intrusion Detection System. Improvements to the security began in November 2021 and are due to be completed by May 2025.

Wandsworth Prison: Dismissal and Retirement

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff (a) retired and (b) were dismissed at HM Prison Wandsworth in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds: The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including leavers by reason for leaving. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 June 2023.In the 12 months to 30 June 2023, 8 staff have retired and 10 staff have been dismissed from HMP Wandsworth.

Judgements

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when an application to set aside a court finding is made in accordance with Section 17(ii) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 who is responsible for determining when the case will be listed.

Mike Freer: Listing is a judicial function.

Prison Sentences: Appeals

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on legal aid for appeals to (a) sentences and (b) convictions from the magistrates' court to the Crown Court in each of the last five years.

Mike Freer: The information can be found in the tables below. The 2020-21 and 2021-22 decrease is likely reflective of the fact that there were fewer cases throughout the magistrates’ court as a whole due to COVID-19. As such there are fewer cases capable of being appealed and therefore fewer cases eligible to receive legal aid funding. Expenditure has started to increase in the most recent full year for which we have data. a) Legal aid expenditure for appeals against sentence:Financial YearExpenditure2018-19£439,465.312019-20£611,222.852020-21£361,743.232021-22£352,904.742022-23£403,672.22 b) Legal aid expenditure for appeals against conviction: Financial YearExpenditure2018-19£990,682.642019-20£935,538.692020-21£560,440.802021-22£636,593.572022-23£690,009.23

Wandsworth Prison: Prison Officers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the maximum number of full-time prison officers working at Wandsworth prison in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 June 2023. Despite a challenging labour market, the 12 months ending 30 June 2023 saw an increase of over 700 Full Time Equivalent Band prison officers. This means we now have 4,000 more prison officers than in March 2017. We are also recruiting 5,000 prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s. Over the past six years, from March 2017 to March 2023, staffing levels at HMP Wandsworth have increased by 24 per cent, on the basis of Full Time Equivalent (FTE). We recently increased the pay of the vast majority of frontline officers by 7 per cent. Combined with other pay rises, this means starting pay for prison officers has increased since 2019/20 from £22,293 to £30,902 (on the basis of a 37-hour week at the national rate, with unsocial hours) or £23,529 to £32,851 (on the basis of a 39-hour week at the national rate, with unsocial hours). The latest Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) report, the recommendations of which were all accepted, can be found here PSPRB Report - 2023. When a prison has vacancies, staffing levels are routinely supplemented, for instance by using Payment Plus, which is a form of overtime not accounted for in the data provided here. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison to support another, is also not included in this data. Table 1 sets out the number of staff at HMP Wandsworth relative to the number of prisoners for the years for which data is available. Table 1: The average ratio of HMPPS payroll staff to prisoners at HMP Wandsworth for the 12 months to the end of June 2023 and the previous six years is shown in the table below. The prison population data is publicly available back to September 2015 so the earliest 12-month average June figure is for 2017. 12 months to end of JuneAverage payroll staff (FTE)Average number of prisonersStaff/prisoner ratioJune 20174601,5750.3June 20184871,4740.3June 20196061,4430.4June 20205851,4950.4June 20215811,5190.4June 20225881,3840.4June 20235831,5170.4

Prisons: Education

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison education classes did not go ahead due to a lack of (a) teachers and (b) prison officers in each of the last four quarters.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not collated centrally, and could not be compiled without incurring disproportionate cost.

Wandsworth Prison: Security

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps (a) officials in his Department and (b) HM Prison and Probation Service took to assess security arrangements at HM Prison Wandsworth in response to a prisoner escape attempt from that prison in 2019.

Damian Hinds: Following a formal investigation by HM Prison & Probation Service, an action plan was put in place to implement its recommendations. The Governor of HMP Wandsworth is monitoring implementation and completion of the actions.HM Prison & Probation Service carries out a programme of unannounced audits across the prison estate, to ensure that adequate operational standards are being maintained in individual establishments. The Annual Prison Performance Ratings published on gov.uk include the latest security audit score for each prison. The most recent security audit data is available here: Security audit - Justice Data.

Probate: Applications

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the robustness of (a) technical and (b) software systems used by HM Court and Tribunal Service to process probate applications.

Mike Freer: The Probate Service is supported by robust technology and software, which is maintained and improved by a dedicated team of software developers.We seek regular feedback from users of the service, which influences the priorities of the software development team. All our technical systems meet Government standards, including alignment with architectural and cyber security principles.HMCTS is required to complete an annual Data Protection Impact Assessment, which is a process to help identify and minimize the data protection risks of the service.

Prison Sentences: Appeals

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people who appealed the (a) sentence and (b) conviction they received from a magistrates’ court to the Crown Court were (i) unrepresented, (ii) funded through legal aid and (iii) privately-funded in each of the last five years.

Mike Freer: The table below shows the proportion of people who appealed the sentence and conviction received from a magistrates’ court to the Crown Court unrepresented, funded through legal aid and privately funded in each of the last five years.Appeals¹ (against mags court decision) Received in the Crown Court REPRESENTATIVE TYPEFinancial Year²Appeal AgainstLegal AidedPrivateNo RepresentativeTotal2018_2019Conviction4527095391700Sentence786149912593544Sentence and Conviction378786160327672019_2020Conviction3605604101330Sentence848150112923641Sentence and Conviction332664129322892020_2021Conviction229254269752Sentence5279649182409Sentence and Conviction18637371712762021_2022Conviction2984573181073Sentence569132011263015Sentence and Conviction304601106919742022_2023Conviction2864733021061Sentence542128911763007Sentence and Conviction2365339971766Notes:Data is based on a count of defendants not a count of cases and excludes appeals against non-criminal appeals such as licencing appeals.Data is Financial Year April - March and based on the date the appeal was received in the Crown Court.The data has been extracted from relevant Crown Court case management systems on the 16/10/2023.These data are Management Information and although every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. It is important to note that the data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, the data can change over time and care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Kingspan Group: Insulation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's press release entitled ‘Severe consequences’ for cladding companies who refuse to remediate, government warns investors, published 20 April 2023, what discussions his Department has had with Kingspan on how Kingspan will (a) scope, (b) identify and (c) pay for remediation works.

Lee Rowley: The Secretary of State has been very clear that, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, those who contributed to legacy of unsafe buildings must take responsibility. His letter to major institutional shareholders in Kingspan, Arconic, and Saint-Gobain stated that if an appropriate financial package is not agreed then consequences for the relevant construction products manufacturers are likely to be severe.These consequences may include legal action. Section 149 of the Building Safety Act 2023 has brought new powers that allow action to be taken against construction product manufacturers. Impacted parties can pursue construction product manufacturers for defective cladding products which have been used on relevant buildings (as defined in the Act as those over 11 metres). Relevant parties include leaseholders, contractors and freeholders. We expect this statutory power to be used to the full extent against those that have failed to take responsibility.The Department has met with Kingspan and will continue to engage with them regarding their responsibilities. While it would not be appropriate to share specific details of these sensitive discussions, reputational, legal, commercial, or further new tools could all be considered if these firms do not do the right thing.

Buildings: Insulation

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to enable leaseholders in properties where there are substantive non-cladding fire safety risks and no recourse to the Building Safety Fund to challenge freeholders who fail to provide evidence of costs.

Lee Rowley: Guidance relating to leaseholder protections, including further information on landlord certificates and leaseholder deed of certificates, can be found here Where leaseholders consider the landlord is breaching the terms of the lease or is in breach of the Building Safety Act 2022, they can take legal action against them. Legal action may include an application to the First-tier Tribunal. They can also apply to the Tribunal for an order requiring the landlord to remediate the building. Advice on such steps is available free of charge from bodies such as the Leasehold Advisory Service or Citizens Advice.

Parking: Blue Badge Scheme

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what data his Department holds on the proportion of car parking spaces allocated to blue badge holders in local authority car parks by local authority.

Jacob Young: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government: Temporary Accommodation

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department provides additional support to local authorities with increased demand for emergency accommodation.

Felicity Buchan: The Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 is investing over £530 million in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025. This includes an additional investment of £34.6 million announced in September 2023. The Rough Sleeping Initiative supports local authorities to deliver emergency interventions and develop services to prevent people from sleeping rough, and provide more sustained off-the-street accommodation offers and tailored wrap-around support for those who are most vulnerable.

Attorney General

Acquittals

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney General, what costs the Serious Fraud office incurred in cases where individuals were acquitted in the last ten years.

Michael Tomlinson: The Serious Fraud Office has paid out £7.485 million in judge-directed acquittals in cases where individuals were acquitted during the past 10 years.

Regional Planning and Development: North West

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the Government Legal Department to levelling up in the North West.

Michael Tomlinson: Government Legal Department (GLD) lawyers are engaged in helping to shape and deliver the legislation required to support levelling up, including the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and supporting the implementation of the Levelling Up Fund and Town Partnerships.The GLD is actively growing its presence in the North West. The Attorney and I were delighted to open the new GLD office in Manchester earlier this month.In addition to recruiting qualified lawyers and other professionals into the Manchester office, GLD are committed to offering traineeships and legal apprenticeships there as the office grows. To support this, they are undertaking targeted outreach activity in the region to help raise the profile of the GLD and highlight opportunities to join at all stages of a legal career.

Monarchy: Property

Tom Hunt: To ask the Attorney General, what the process is for the (a) liquidation, (b) declamation and (c) possession of a residential building by the Crown.

Michael Tomlinson: An interest in a freehold property owned by a company in liquidation will be dealt with by the appointed liquidator, who will decide how best to deal with the property interest to achieve the best outcome for creditors.Where the property interest is onerous, for example it is not readily saleable or may give rise to a liability, the liquidator may seek to disclaim it.Once disclaimed the freehold property interest, in the absence of any other owner or a vesting order, may pass to the Crown Estate according to the legal principle of escheat.The Crown Estate does not usually seek to take possession of property subject to escheat and does not assume the responsibilities ordinarily attributable to a property owner. It therefore does not manage or insure properties subject to escheat.The Crown Estate is not bound to dispose of property subject to escheat, or to dispose of such property to any particular purchaser. Normal policy is to dispose of such property to an appropriate purchaser where it is possible to do so.

Confiscation Orders

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney General, how many confiscation orders of what value the Serious Fraud Office obtained in the last ten years.

Michael Tomlinson: The Serious Fraud Office has obtained 68 confiscation orders totalling £202,000,000 since 1st April 2014.

Department for Work and Pensions

Natural Gas: Safety

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of the prosecution of individuals undertaking (a) unsafe and (b) illegal installation of gas-safe regulated products in each of the last five years.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount of court time used in proceedings against individuals who have allegedly installed gas-safe products without being gas-safe registered in the last 12 months.

Mims Davies: With regards to cases brought by HSE, HSE does not hold information in relation to these proceedings centrally, so therefore to gather this information and provide it would incur disproportionate costs. The overall cost to the public purse and court time in relation to all prosecutions goes beyond just the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) remit.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department last reviewed the adequacy of rates for Disability Living Allowance for children.

Tom Pursglove: The Secretary of State will shortly be conducting his annual review of benefit levels and will report in due course.

Disability Living Allowance: Arfon

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for Disability Living Allowance for children were made in Arfon constituency in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for Disability Living Allowance for children were (a) successful and (b) not successful in Arfon constituency in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: We have grouped the response to the above two parliamentary questions. The information is not available. However, quarterly statistics for the number of children receiving Disability Living Allowance, by length of claim and by Westminster Parliamentary Constituency to February 2023, are published on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Disability Living Allowance: Arfon

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unsuccessful claims for Disability Living Allowance for children were (a) appealed and (b) successful following an appeal in Arfon constituency in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: Figures for Disability Living Allowance appeals for claimants in the Arfon parliamentary constituency completed in each of the last 3 years are too small to be disclosed. The table below provides figures for the full 3 year period.YearAppeals completedAppeals lapsedAppeals overturned at tribunalJuly 2020 – June 20235-5Notes:All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 5. ‘-‘ represents nil or negligible.Appeals data taken from the DWP administrative data. This may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.Appeals data up to 30 June 2023 in line with latest published statistics on appeals.The Parliamentary Constituency geography relates to the origin of the claim (i.e. derived from claimant’s postcode) rather than the location of where a tribunal is held.These figures are produced using administrative data. They are not quality assured to Official Statistics standards and may be subject to revision.A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged, but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the average time taken for Disability Living Allowance for children claims to be concluded, including appeals processes, in the last 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested on end-to-end journey times for Disability Living Allowance for children is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Employment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to publish information on the number of people moving into employment through the Universal Support scheme on a monthly basis in the period up to September 2024.

Tom Pursglove: Universal Support is in the early stages of development. We have a commitment to transparency and are considering the information that will be published on Universal Support services.

Access to Work Programme: Standards

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was to receive the results of an Access to Work application in the latest period for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: The average waiting time to receive the result of an Access to Work application for August 2023 was 46.9 days with a year to date (April 2023 to August 2023) average waiting time of 48.4 days. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

Access to Work Programme: Standards

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the longest waiting time was to apply for Access to Work in the latest period for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about what the longest wait time was to apply for Access to Work is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are awaiting an Access to Work assessment.

Tom Pursglove: As of 19th September 2023, there are 22,432 people awaiting a decision on their Access to Work application. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

Carer's Allowance: Cost of Living Payments

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing Cost of Living Payments to recipients of Carer's Allowance.

Tom Pursglove: The Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends, including pensioners and those with disabilities. Depending on personal circumstances, carers may be eligible for means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit and Pension Credit. Means-tested benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the Carer Element in Universal Credit and the additional amounts for carers in other benefits respectively. We would encourage anyone who is providing unpaid care, and who is not already in receipt of a means-tested benefit, to check on GOV.UK to confirm whether there are other benefits they may be entitled to. Advice can also be sought from organisations such as Carers UK and Citizens Advice. Means-tested benefits can provide extra weekly income and trigger extra support with the cost of living.Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related means-tested benefit. More than 8 million households on means-tested benefits received Cost of Living Payments of up to £650 in 2022, and more than 8 million households will receive up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments in 2023/24. All pensioner households will also receive the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment. Carers who are themselves disabled may have also received the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment in Spring 2023, as will the people for whom they provide care.Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills. For people who require additional support the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year-long extension allow’s local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support with the significantly rising cost of living to those most in need. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding.

Mining: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will take steps to ensure that former mineworkers are eligible for the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

Tom Pursglove: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides non-contributory, “no-fault” benefit for disablement because of an accident at work or one of over 70 ‘prescribed’ diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs.The department is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which IIDB can be paid. A disease can only be recommended for prescription by IIAC if the risk to workers in a certain occupation is substantially greater than the risk to the general population, and the link between the disease and the occupation can be established or presumed with reasonable certainty. Former coal miners that satisfy the occupational and other eligibility criteria for a particular Prescribed Disease (PD) may already be eligible for IIDB. IIAC keeps existing PDs under continuous review to ensure they are in line with current scientific evidence. If any further recommendations are made by IIAC on changes to the list of PDs, they will be carefully considered by the department.

Access to Work Programme: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was to receive the results of an Access to Work application in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in the latest period for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about Access to Work applications that have been made in Enfield North and London Borough of Enfield and London is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. Average customer journey times stood at 62 days in December 2022. Current averages stand at 48.4 days, a 22% reduction.

Access to Work Programme: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are awaiting an Access to Work assessment in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about Access to Work applications that have been made in Enfield North and London Borough of Enfield and London is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. At close of business on 17th September 22,063 applications were outstanding.

Access to Work Programme: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the longest waiting time was to apply for Access to Work in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in the latest period for which data is available.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about Access to Work applications that have been made in Enfield North and London Borough of Enfield and London is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. Customers were notified of a 20 week wait to be assigned when applying in late 2022. Customers are now being notified of a 12 week wait.

Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Line: Land

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total expenditure on land purchases for HS2 has been as of October 2023; and what estimate he has made of the current sale value of this land following the decision not to proceed with the northern stage of HS2.

Huw Merriman: As at September 2023, total expenditure on land purchases for HS2 was £3.38 billion (at nominal prices and excludes commitments). This sum was broken down by Phase as follows:Phase 1: £2,812mPhase 2A: £208mPhase 2B East: £160mPhase 2B West: £196mNo formal estimate of the current sales value of the land has been undertaken, but any land and property that is no longer required will be sold, and a programme is being developed to do this. However, the majority of the spend remains on Phase 1 which we remain fully committed to.

Roads: Freight

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to help support the decarbonisation of the road freight industry; and whether his Department plans to issue guidance on which technology the industry should be investing in.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government is technology neutral on the technology best suited to decarbonise UK’s road freight, but understands that recharging and refuelling infrastructure is key to a successful transition.The Department is working with industry stakeholders to develop a zero emission HGV infrastructure strategy for publication in early 2024. In parallel, the Department is investing £200m into zero emission HGV and infrastructure demonstrators to provide the road freight industry with the evidence needed to make investment decisions and have the confidence to transition to zero emissions technologies sooner. Winners of the competition will be announced imminently.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Mr Richard Holden: £6,942.16 was spent on courses purchased by the DVSA in the financial year 2022-23 relating to inclusivity, equality and diversity.

Driving Tests: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data he holds on the average waiting time for a driving test in (a) St Helens North constituency and (b) the North West as of 13 October 2023.

Mr Richard Holden: The average waiting time in September 2023 for (a) St Helens North was 17 weeks, and (b) the North West was 19.1 weeks.

Traffic Commissioners: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Mr Richard Holden: Nothing.

Railways: North of England

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve rail services across the North of England.

Huw Merriman: As the Prime Minister made clear in his speech on 4 October 2023, this Government is committed to improving transport in and across the North of England. He announced a series of road, rail and local improvements which will establish Network North and deliver improved transport links, including on rail. We continue to work with Network Rail and Train Operating Companies to deliver a high level of service and improve punctuality and reliability.

High Speed 2 Line

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there has been a change to the Benefit to Cost Ratio of Phase 1 of HS2 as a result of the decision not to proceed with the northern section of HS2.

Huw Merriman: The Phase 1 BCR estimate is independent of additional HS2 rail phases being built. Thus, not proceeding with the northern section of HS2 does not affect the Phase 1 BCR estimate.

High Speed 2 Line: Compulsory Purchase

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) homes and (b) businesses were acquired through compulsory purchase orders for HS2 Phase (i) 2a and (i) 2b.

Huw Merriman: There is 29.2 km² of land within Phase 2a Act limits. As at 30 September 2023, 2.3 km² has been permanently acquired and 5.7 km² has been taken temporarily on compulsory terms. No properties have been acquired permanently or temporarily on Phase 2b (Western and Eastern Legs, including HS2 East) through compulsory purchase orders. Compulsory acquisition can only take place once provided for by Act of Parliament.

High Speed 2 Line: Expenditure

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the spend on HS2 phase (a) 2a and (b) 2b is to date.

Huw Merriman: Spending up to and including February 2023 was reported in the Department’s last HS2 report to Parliament in June 2023. Updated figures will be provided in the Department’s next six-monthly report on HS2.

High Speed 2 Line: Euston Station

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department made an assessment of the adequacy of proposals for private financing for Euston HS2 station between 13 February 2020 and 15 July 2022.

Huw Merriman: DfT and HS2 Ltd have consulted and commissioned studies on private finance. We continually review the best ways to deliver and fund our major infrastructure projects, including harnessing the private sector to finance and deliver projects where appropriate.

Network North

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list all projects announced as part of Network North that have had their business cases successfully approved as of 16 October 2023.

Huw Merriman: The projects announced as part of Network North have business cases at various stages in the approval process. Some are in the early to mid-stages of business development and will necessarily need to be updated following the recent announcement. In due course, we will share further details of projects to be delivered.

Network North

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list all infrastructure projects announced as part of Network North (a) with and (b) without an estimated cost.

Huw Merriman: Following the recent announcement of Network North, the Department is coordinating all work that falls under the Network North banner. In due course, we will share further details of projects to be delivered and anticipated funding where appropriate.

High Speed 2 Line

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of not proceeding with the northern leg of HS2 on the expected demand for services on phase 1 of the project.

Huw Merriman: The train service specification for HS2 Phase 1 services between London and Birmingham is unaffected by the decision not to proceed with the northern leg of HS2, which is therefore unlikely to impact passenger demand between London and Birmingham.

Road Works: Utilities

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to require utilities companies to coordinate the digging up of roads and pavements to (a) minimise inconvenience to residents and (b) ensure a good quality of surfacing.

Mr Richard Holden: Government recently published a plan for drivers which included support for further Lane Rental schemes, which reduce roadworks by incentivising utilities to avoid the busiest roads at the busiest times helping to reduce inconvenience for residents. The Department is to consult on requiring local authorities with Lane Rental schemes to use at least 50% of any surplus on pothole repairs or resurfacing poor quality roads and encourages all local transport authorities to get a Lane Rental Scheme if they don’t already. The efficient co-ordination of street and road works is one of the most important aspects of street works legislation. Section 60 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) sets a duty on utility companies to use their best endeavours to minimise inconvenience to residents when carrying out street works. In 2020 the Department launched the digital service Street Manager for highway authorities and utility companies within England to plan and manage street works. To further help utility companies fulfil their duty to co-operate in this process, a substantial update to the code of practice for coordination of street works was published earlier this year. An update to the ‘Specification of the reinstatement of openings in highways’ (SROH) was also published in 2020, outlining the standards for reinstating streets after completing street works. Utility companies must reinstate the street once the work is finished, in-line with these standards. We introduced new regulations in April 2023 that introduced performance-based inspections of reinstatement to improve quality and compliance.

Treasury

Credit Reference Agencies

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the number of buy-now-pay-later providers that are reporting their customers’ borrowing and repayment records to the credit reference agencies.

Andrew Griffith: HM Treasury regularly monitors the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) is an interest-free product which gives consumers a time-limited means of spreading payments for their purchases. When used responsibly and provided affordably it can be a helpful way for consumers to manage their finances and make purchases. Many consumers are attracted to BNPL because of its interest-free nature, which the Government considers makes it inherently lower risk than most other types of credit. The FCA’s most recent Financial Lives survey found that 46% of people of who had used BNPL in the past 12 months used it because it was interest-free. As such, BNPL represents a popular alternative to traditional, interest-bearing forms of credit like credit cards and personal loans. For some financially vulnerable consumers it may also provide an alternative to high-cost and illegal lending. According to the FCA’s most recent Financial Lives survey, nearly 9 million adults in the UK have used BNPL in the past 12 months, and the average user had £160 outstanding across their BNPL purchases. While the department does not hold precise information on the number of BNPL firms reporting information about their customers’ agreements to credit reference agencies, it understands that several of the UK’s major BNPL firms have reporting arrangements in place with at least one credit reference agency.

Cars: Insurance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will launch a consumer review of the car insurance market for the purposes of understanding the (a) adequacy of levels of competition and (b) comparative pricing structures between companies.

Andrew Griffith: The motor insurance market has many providers offering a variety of insurance products to suit the needs of customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator for financial services, has a statutory objective to promote competition in the interests of consumers, and, working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority, can enforce against breaches of competition law. The FCA have also introduced several reforms, including the Consumer Duty rules, to ensure consumers are treated fairly in regard to pricing. Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms, conditions or price that they set when offering insurance, including motor insurance. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.

Public Houses: Cost of Living

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support pubs with increases in the cost of living.

Gareth Davies: The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and the UK economy. And we understand the challenges pubs are facing. That is why the new alcohol duty system implemented on 1 August 2023 included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in pubs and other on-trade venues. As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. Pubs also benefit from a broader package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years, including a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme which increased from 50% to 75% relief in 2023-24. And community assets have benefitted from the Community Ownership Fund, which has allocated £49.3m to 195 projects across the UK, including pubs.

Credit: Regulation

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce interim measures to protect buy-now-pay-later borrowers ahead of planned regulation of those products.

Andrew Griffith: The Government’s consultation on proposed draft legislation to bring Buy-Now Pay-Later into regulation closed in April. Since then the Government has been carefully considering stakeholder feedback. The Government will publish a response to the consultation once it is finalised in due course.

Credit: Regulation

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to bring forward proposals to regulate providers of buy-now-pay-later products.

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate Buy Now Pay Later providers.

Andrew Griffith: The Government’s consultation on proposed draft legislation to bring Buy-Now Pay-Later into regulation closed in April. Since then the Government has been carefully considering stakeholder feedback. The Government will publish a response to the consultation once it is finalised in due course.

Tobacco: Excise Duties

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Prime Minister's announcement on a smokefree generation on 4 October 2023 on tobacco duties received by the Treasury.

Gareth Davies: As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2023, the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke. The command paper sets out the proposed actions the Government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation#:~:text=This%20publication%20sets%20out%20proposed,ensure%20the%20law%20is%20enforced The Government launched a consultation on 12 October on the smokefree generation policy detailed in the command paper, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping#:~:text=Consultation%20description,ensure%20the%20law%20is%20enforced. Once final policy decisions are confirmed, the impact of those decisions on the public finances will be assessed and reflected in the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast. A smokefree generation will save the NHS billions over the long-term and put cash back in the pockets of millions of families across this country.

Office for Budget Responsibility: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Office for Budget Responsibility spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Andrew Griffith: The Office for Budget Responsibility training on equality and diversity is recorded in the OBR’s “Expenditure over £500” release available online here: https://obr.uk/download/expenditure-over-500-april-2022-to-september-2022/?tmstv=1697554993

Financial Conduct Authority: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Financial Conduct Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Payment Systems Regulator spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Andrew Griffith: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) which are independent from Government. The FCA and the PSR will respond to the Honourable Member by letter, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

UK Debt Management Office: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the UK Debt Management Office spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

Andrew Griffith: The DMO remains committed to ensuring that equality and diversity is treated as a priority within the workplace. The DMO’s most recent annual reports and accounts, which includes more information on its key areas of budgeted expenditure, including training, can be found here: Publications (dmo.gov.uk)

Financial Services: Freedom of Expression

Mark Logan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) banks and (b) other payment service providers do not terminate contracts on the grounds of clients having expressed a view that is within the scope of lawful free speech.

Andrew Griffith: On 21 July, the Government confirmed that it would strengthen regulations overseeing banks and payment service providers to increase the minimum notice period in cases of provider-initiated contract terminations from 2 months to 90 days – giving customers more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service, or find a replacement bank. Providers will also be required to spell out to the affected customer why they are terminating their contract – increasing transparency and aiding customers’ ability to appeal decisions. This requirement will be subject to limited exceptions where firms need to comply with existing legal obligations, for example, under financial crime law. As set out in its follow-up statement on 2 October, the Government continues to work with the regulators, law enforcement and industry to support the implementation of these changes, and will publish draft secondary legislation to enact these changes to statute by the end of the year.

Tobacco: Taxation

Bob Blackman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) implementing additional tax measures for the tobacco industry and (b) ringfencing tax receipts from the tobacco industry to help fund steps the Government is taking to reduce smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2030.

Gareth Davies: The Government is unable to speculate on tax matters outside of fiscal events. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the tobacco duty system under review during its yearly Budget process. As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2023, the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke. The command paper sets out the proposed actions the Government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping including an additional £70 million per year to support local authority-led stop smoking services and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation#:~:text=This%20publication%20sets%20out%20proposed,ensure%20the%20law%20is%20enforced

Financial Services: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a tax on windfall profits from the banking sector.

Andrew Griffith: Banks already face an additional rate of tax on their profits in the form of the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge – meaning they pay 3% more on their profit than most other businesses. This is in addition to a charge on the largest banks’ balance sheets in the form of the Bank Levy.

Treasury: Catering

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 17 May 2022 to Question 130, how much his Department spent on outside catering services in 2022-23.

Gareth Davies: HM Treasury has an external catering contract provided by the Government Property Agency as part of its standard lease service charge across its sites in London and Darlington, which is shared with other occupants of the buildings. Given this, total costs for catering services cannot be identified as some costs form part of the overall service charges that the department pays for its buildings.

Public Houses

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of pubs that have been (a) demolished, (b) converted and (c) sold in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Gareth Davies: The Government does not hold data at this granular level. We do believe that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and the UK economy. And we understand the challenges pubs are facing.That is why the alcohol duty system, implemented in August, included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.   As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket.Pubs also benefit from a broader package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years, including a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme which increased from 50% to 75% relief in 2023-24.

Tobacco: Taxation

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing tax on the tobacco industry.

Gareth Davies: The Government is unable to speculate on tax measures outside of fiscal events. As with all taxes, the Government keeps tobacco duty rates under review during its yearly Budget process. The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the latest changes to tobacco duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tobacco-duty-changes-to-rates/changes-to-tobacco-duty-rates-from-15-march-2023

Air Passenger Duty

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of compliance with Air Passenger Duty by (a) private and (b) business jets.

Gareth Davies: Private and business jets that meet certain criteria must register and account for air passenger duty (APD). APD is a self-assessed tax, and it is the responsibility of the aircraft operator to ensure they have accounted for the tax correctly. Smaller and infrequent flyers have the option to declare the tax via the Occasional Operator Scheme. HMRC undertakes a risk-based audit programme to ensure compliance from the aviation sector and has a range of penalties to deter non-compliance.

Child Trust Fund

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department provides to the families of children with health conditions that are trying to access their Child Trust Funds.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April to Question 181792 on Child Trust Funds: what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its policies on simplifying the process for families to access Child Trust Funds.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181783 on Child Trust Funds, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its work in making contact with account holders of unclaimed mature Child Trust Funds.

Andrew Griffith: Although primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their parents lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the government is committed to helping people access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their mature CTFs. HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience. The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways. If a child lacks the mental capacity to manage their account when they turn 18, a person with responsibility must apply to the Court of Protection (or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for a financial deputyship order. While responsibility for the process and legislation relating to mental capacity rests with the Ministry of Justice and devolved administrations, the CTF guidance on gov.uk provides specific references to mental capacity and links to the relevant bodies in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Public Expenditure and Taxation: Wales

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the difference is between the amount of Government revenue collected from sources in Wales and the amount of funding provided by the Government to the Welsh Government in each of the last five financial years.

John Glen: All Government revenue collected from sources in Wales in the five years up to the financial year ending 2022 is set out in the Country and regional public sector finances revenue tables published by the Office for National Statistics[1]. Funding provided by the UK Government to the Welsh Government over the past five years is set out in the Block Grant Transparency publication. This publication is updated regularly and the most recent update was published in July 2023. [1] Country and regional public sector finances revenue tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Treasury: CK Group

Maria Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have met representatives from CK Group since 2019.

Gareth Davies: Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Football: Injuries

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Professional Footballers Association and (b) Premier League on (i) measuring and (ii) analysing the impact of concussion substitutes in football on rates of dementia in former football players.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Professional Footballers Association and (b) Premier League on (i) measuring and (ii) analysing the impact of heading restrictions for young players on (A) short and (B) long term incidences of brain injury.

Stuart Andrew: Although I have discussed pitch safety with the PFA, I have not had any specific discussions with the PFA or Premier League on concussion substitutes or heading restrictions.The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount, and I encourage sports organisations to do all they can to protect their players from harm.My department has recently worked with sporting bodies and health experts to develop a single set of shared concussion guidelines for grassroots sport across the UK, published in April 2023. We continue to encourage sports governing bodies to adapt the guidelines to their own sport where appropriate.

Horse Racing: Betting

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on the horserace betting levy.

Stuart Andrew: The Department is engaging with representatives of the betting and racing industries and other interested parties as part of our review of the Horserace Betting Levy, which we have committed to undertake by April 2024. The engagement with racing has been channelled through the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in line with racing’s agreed industry strategy and the engagement with betting has been channelled through the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) as the industry body for UK betting and gaming.In addition to those organisations, I have also met the Horserace Betting Levy Board, the Horse Racing Bettors Forum and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Racing and Bloodstock; and officials have met the UK Tote, the Federation of Racecourse Bookmakers and the British Association of Racecourse Bookmakers in the past six months.

Gambling

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the working group for strengthening informational messaging including on the risks associated with gambling has met.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's expected timescale is for launching its consultation on the (a) design and (b) scope of the statutory levy for gambling operators.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on appointing a new ombudsman to adjudicate complaints and order redress.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is working with the Gambling Commission, gambling industry and others to implement all the measures set out in the gambling white paper as soon as possible. A number of proposals are already complete, at consultation stage, or being trialled ahead of implementation.We launched the consultation on the details of the statutory levy, including rates for different sectors and governance arrangements, on 17 October. We are also continuing work with the industry and Gambling Commission to scope and design an ombudsman, and remain on track for it to be established next summer.The cross department group of officials working on informational messaging on the risks associated with gambling has met a number of times since the white paper was published.

Gaming Machines: Licensing

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to launch a consultation on secondary legislation on cash pay out machines.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to launch a consultation on outstanding issues on making the rules on machines more consistent in the casino sector.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to launch a consultation on changing the 80/20 machine rule for Category B and C/D machines in bingo and arcade venues to 50/50.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to launch the consultation on reviewing the premises licence fees cap for local authorities and aligning the gambling and alcohol licensing systems.

Stuart Andrew: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published its consultation, Measures relating to the land-based gambling sector, on July 26 2023.The specific measures consulted on included the introduction of an age limit on ‘cash-out’ category D slot-style gaming machines, gaming machine allowances in casinos, the ratio of Category B to Category C/D gaming machines in arcades and bingo halls, and a review of licensing authority fees. The consultation closed on 4 October 2023 and we will publish the government’s response in due course.The white paper also proposed to introduce cumulative impact assessments to align the gambling and alcohol licensing systems. This measure is not currently being consulted on. However, we plan to introduce it when parliamentary time allows.

Swimming Pools

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with local authorities on the (a) affordability and (b) condition of swimming pools in England.

Stuart Andrew: Responsibility for public access to and maintenance of swimming pools lies at local authority level.In recognition of the benefits of physical activity, including swimming, and the challenges facing the sector, we are providing over £60 million of support for swimming pools. This will help ease cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and help make facilities sustainable in the long-term through investment in energy efficiency measures. The funding is being delivered in partnership with Sport England and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, following extensive consultation with local authorities and the sector.

Public Service Broadcasting

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure the future provision of public service content on linear broadcast services.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government recognises the crucial role that linear broadcast services, including digital terrestrial television services, play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available free-to-air to all audiences.All of the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) are required by law to operate at least one linear television service and must offer those service(s) to digital terrestrial, satellite and cable television providers.In addition, the Government’s draft Media Bill, published on 29 March 2023, will amend the public service remit for television to make explicit in law the requirement on our PSBs to make their public service content available to as many members of the public in the United Kingdom as reasonably practicable.

Listed Events: Streaming

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that streaming services that do not have an Ofcom broadcasting licence cannot to (a) buy the rights for a listed event and (b) put them behind a paywall.

Sir John Whittingdale: The draft Media Bill set out our intention to make qualification for listed events a Public Service Broadcaster-specific benefit.

Television: Research

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her speech to the Royal Television Society published by her Department on 20 September 2023, whether the findings of the six-month research project on changing viewing habits and technologies will be published.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in the process of commissioning independent research which will look at a wide range of themes, including changing audience viewing habits and technologies that will impact how shows are brought to our screens, both now, and in the decades to come. The research will inform wider work looking at the future of television distribution.In accordance with Government Social Research guidelines, the research will be published in due course.

Draft Media Bill

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her speech to the Royal Television Society published by her Department on 20 September 2023, what her Department's timeline is for bringing forward the Media Bill.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government remains committed to introducing the Media Bill when Parliamentary time allows.

Community News Project

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the potential impact of Meta's reduction to the Community News Project on local journalism.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry, and our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.

Arts: Finance

Sir Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which SMEs have received funding via the Create Growth Programme since its inception.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Create Growth Programme provides finance, business support and investor capacity building to turn creative businesses into high growth firms. So far, the finance strand of the programme has awarded more than £3m to over 100 businesses. The business support and investor capacity strands do not provide direct grant funding to businesses.In the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we announced new funding of £10.9m to expand the programme to £28.4m, providing support to another six English regions, to make 12 in total. As part of this, we are working with our national delivery partner, Innovate UK, to deliver a further two grant-funding competitions over the next 18 months. These will benefit even more high-potential creative businesses.An initial list of funded SMEs can be accessed from the "Innovate UK's funded projects since 2004" dataset (filtered for "DCMS Create Growth Programme"), accessible here. The remainder of funded SMEs will be added in due course.

Performing Arts: Facilities

Sir Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to establish how many performing venues have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Sir John Whittingdale: Individual building owners and managers are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as the one issued by the Standing Committee on Structural Safety on 1 May 2019 on the failure of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) planks.As buildings are identified as having suspected or confirmed instances of RAAC, building owners and managers should follow the guidance to put appropriate mitigation in place.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business and Trade: CK Group

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department have met representatives from CK Group since 2019.

Nigel Huddleston: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance. Details are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetingshttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Department for Business and Trade: Russia

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 8 March 2022 to Question 131137 on Department for International Trade: Russia, how many of her Department's staff were based in the Russian Federation on (a) 31 March 2022, (b) 31 March 2023, and (c) 1 September 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: Please see below for departmental staff based in Russia at the times specified. Former BEIS had no staff based in Russia prior to the establishment of the Department for Business and Trade:  31/03/202231/03/202331/08/2023UK Based (Civil Servant)121Country Based Staff (Locally Employed)1732Total1853

Batteries: Factories

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 196337 on Batteries: Factories, for what reason the financial support figure to Tata was not set out in the previous answer.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government continues to work with investors through our Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to progress plans to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK.We are engaging with a number of other companies to secure investment into the UK, so it would not be appropriate to reveal commercially sensitive figures.We will publish details of any subsidy on the UK Subsidy Database (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/view-subsidies-awarded-by-uk-government), in line with our statutory obligations, in due course.

Postal Services: Liverpool West Derby

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of planned reductions to Royal Mail customer service points on local services in Liverpool, West Derby constituency.

Kevin Hollinrake: Decisions on the opening hours of Royal Mail’s customer service points are an operational matter for the business. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s operational or commercial decisions.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's publication entitled UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement: The UK’s Strategic Approach, published 24 March 2022,  for what reason does the UK's strategic approach (a) include an ambition to ensure the agreement does not contain an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism and (b) not commit to disapply such a mechanism with Canada as part of the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK will not be seeking to negotiate an investor state dispute mechanism (ISDS) in the UK-Canada FTA and will instead seek to consider alternative options for investment dispute resolution that are best suited to the bilateral relationship between the UK and Canada. In seeking accession to CPTPP, the UK committed to the agreement’s existing standards, including its provisions on investor protections backed by a modern and transparent ISDS mechanism. These features balance the need to protect UK investors accessing and operating in CPTPP markets and ensure that the Government can regulate in the public interest.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department sought a side letter similar to those agreed with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand to disapply investor–state dispute settlement provisions under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership during accession negotiations.

Nigel Huddleston: In seeking accession to CPTPP, the UK committed to the existing standards of this agreement, including its provisions on investor protections backed by a modern and transparent investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. These features balance the need to protect UK investors accessing and operating in CPTPP markets and to ensure that the Government can regulate in the public interest. In light of our investment relationship with Australia and New Zealand, we agreed side letters confirming that it was not necessary to have ISDS provisions between our countries in CPTPP.

UK Tradeshow Programme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2023 to Question 126730 on the UK Tradeshow Programme, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to the Exhibit element of the UK Tradeshow Programme pilot was spent in 2022-23; and how many exhibitors received support through the scheme that same year.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2023 to Question 126731 on the UK Tradeshow Programme, how much and what proportion of funding allocated to the Attendee element of the UK Tradeshow Programme pilot scheme was spent in 2022-23; and how many attendees received support through the scheme.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK Tradeshow Programme 2022-2023 had a total allocated budget of £904,512.00 with actual spend totalling £347,755.67.From 2022-2023, the Department spent a proportion of this on identifiable exhibitor and attendee elements. £191,057.54 on the exhibitor element and £41,020 on attendees’ elements. In the same period, the Department provided 56 exhibitors and 35 attendees with support.The Tradeshow Programme offered an insight into how the Government can support business. We will continue to analyse the ways in which we can develop business support programmes to meet business needs, such as the Help to Grow scheme, and Business Academy programmes.

UK Tradeshow Programme

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 114620, how much and what proportion of the £1.5 million allocated to the Exhibit element of the UK Tradeshow Programme was spent; and how many exhibitors received support through the scheme in the financial year 2021-22.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 114620, what the cost to the public purse of the attendee element of the UK Tradeshow Programme was; and how many attendees received support through the scheme in financial year 2021-22.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK Tradeshow Programme 2021-2022 had a total allocated budget of £1,522,768. The actual spend for that period was £739,161.74 or 48.5%. The exhibitor element of the scheme launched on 30 November 2021 with a budget of £251,427.36 and supported eight shows. The exhibitor spend was £13,600. Four exhibitor applications were received, two were successful. The attendee element was launched on 20 January 2022 and the total attendee spend for 2021-22 was £0. Three complete applications were received, two not reaching the required criteria and one offer made but declined.

Overseas Trade: Japan

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to support trade with Japan.

Nigel Huddleston: Japan is one of the UK's closest trade and strategic partners. In 2021, we concluded the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the first major trade deal that the UK struck as an independent trading nation. We continue to work closely with businesses so they can fully utilise the benefits of this agreement.We agreed The Hiroshima Accord in May 2023 with Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Kishida, setting the direction of our partnership for the next decade and beyond. During the PM's visit to Japan, leading Japanese businesses committed to invest almost £18 billion into the UK.This summer, the UK also completed accession negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will strengthen our trading relationship with Japan.In September 2023, the Secretary of State held the first UK-Japan Economic, Business and Trade Dialogue in which UK Export Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, which will support UK and Japanese exporters, including Small to Medium Enterprises (SME's).

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Training

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much their Department spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office did not spend anything on equality and diversity training in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Staff

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many staff are employed by IPSA; and how many and what proportion of those staff were working in the office at least (a) two and (b) three days a week in the last 12 months.

Sir Charles Walker: As of today, IPSA has 101 employees. IPSA is unable to provide data on how many staff were working in the office at least (a) two and (b) three days a week in the last twelve months, as this information is not recorded.

Northern Ireland Office

Local Housing Allowance: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Department for Communities on the adequacy of Local Housing Allowance rates in Northern Ireland in the context of recent trends in the level of rental costs.

Mr Steve Baker: Housing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive reviews Local Housing Allowance rates and sets rent levels annually. Local Housing Allowance rates are based on rents and limited by legislation. It is for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to provide information regarding Local Housing Allowance rates.

Flags: Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make it his policy to establish a new official local flag for Northern Ireland in addition to the Union flag.

Mr Steve Baker: The Union Flag is the only official flag of Northern Ireland. The regulatory framework for official flag flying in Northern Ireland is determined by the Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and The Flags (Northern Ireland) Order 2000. There are no current plans to further review or amend how this legislation operates in recognising specific flags in Northern Ireland. Flag flying remains a sensitive and divisive issue for people in Northern Ireland. The UK Government respects the sensitivities and unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, and balances this with recognition of its integral place in our United Kingdom.

Devolution: Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to help restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Mr Steve Baker: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's priority is to see the return of locally elected, accountable and effective devolved institutions which is the best outcome for Northern Ireland. The Government is working tirelessly towards that objective.